Rethinking the Mediterranean

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Rethinking the Mediterranean
by W. V. Harris (Editor)

Review
`Review from previous edition The contributors Harris marshalls are a constellation bright enough to guide any historical navigator ... [an] enormously valuable book. ' Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Times Literary Supplement

Product Description
In this collection of essays, an international group of renowned scholars attempt to establish the theoretical basis for studying the ancient and medieval history of the Mediterranean Sea and the lands around it. In so doing they range far afield to other Mediterraneans, real and imaginary, as distant as Brazil and Japan. Their work is an essential tool for understanding the Mediterranean, pre-modern and modern alike. It speaks to ancient and medieval historians, to archaeologists, anthropologists and all historians with environmental interests, and not least to classicists.

About the Author

W. V. Harris is Shepherd Professor of History at Columbia University.

Romantic Atheism

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Romantic Atheism: Poetry and Freethought, 1780-1830 by Martin Priestman

Review
"Priestman's study adds the obvious but still overlooked and unquestionably important feature of atheism, especially as it gets expressed in the discourse of Romantic poetry. By addressing attacks (both oblique and direct) on conventional religion expressed in Romantic poetry, Priestman presents us with a study that is long overdue." Religion & Literature

"...a very conscientious, diligent, helpful, even moving book. Readers who share his assumptions may consider it definative." North Dakota Quarterly

Product Description
Romantic Atheism explores the links between English Romantic poetry and the first burst of outspoken atheism in Britain, from the 1780s onward. Martin Priestman examines the work of Blake, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron and Keats in their most intellectually radical periods, as well as a host of less canonical poet-intellectuals and controversialists of the time. Above all, the book conveys the excitement of Romantic atheism, whose dramatic appeals to new developments in politics, science and comparative mythology lent it a protean energy belied by the more recent conception of "loss of faith."

Book Description
Romantic Atheism explores the links between English Romantic poetry and the first burst of outspoken atheism in Britain, from the 1780s onwards. Martin Priestman examines the work of Blake, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron and Keats in their most intellectually radical periods, and a host of less canonical poet-intellectuals and controversialists of the time. Above all, the book conveys the excitement of Romantic atheism, whose dramatic appeals to new developments in politics, science and comparative mythology lend it a protean energy belied by the more recent conception of 'loss of faith'.

Download Description
Romantic Atheism explores the links between English Romantic poetry and the first burst of outspoken atheism in Britain, from the 1780s onwards. Martin Priestman examines the work of Blake, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron and Keats in their most intellectually radical periods, establishing the depth of their engagement with such discourses, and in some cases their active participation. Equal attention is given to less canonical writers: such poet-intellectuals as Erasmus Darwin, Sir William Jones, Richard Payne Knight and Anna Laetitia Barbauld, and controversialists including Holbach, Volney, Paine, Priestley, Godwin, Richard Carlile and Eliza Sharples (these last two in particular representing the close links between punishably outspoken atheism and radical working-class politics). Above all, the book conveys the excitement of Romantic atheism, whose dramatic appeals to new developments in politics, science and comparative mythology lend it a protean energy belied by the common and more recent conception of 'loss of faith'.

Life and Society in the Hittite World

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Life and Society in the Hittite World
by Trevor Bryce

Times Literary Supplement
"Bryce gets behind the mask of the official records, and gives us the Hittites’ inner thoughts…. Thoughtful and informative." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Trevor Bryce has written a beautiful and informative book about how people lived in the Hittite kingdom. The book is reliable and accurate in its content. The text is extrememly well-written. At times the language is almost lyrical I have no reservation about recommending his book not only to the general public, but also to university students and even to my fellow specialists. I wish this book a wide reading."-Harry A. Hoffner, Jr. Journal of Near Eastern Studies
"What is...needed is a readable and up-to-date synthesis which can introduce the wider public to the Hittites as a human society, and the author has provided this in a masterly way.... Bryce gets behind the mask of the official records, and gives us the Hittites' inner thoughts. It is a world both humane and grim.... We may be closer heirs to the Kingdom of the Hittites than we imagine. Here is one more reason to study this thoughtful and informative book."--Times Literary Supplement
"Trevor Bryce is the most successful--and responsible--popularizer of Anatolian studies active today.... This volume provides a comprehensive and highly readable introduction to the culture of the earliest attested state-level society employing an Indo-European language. As such it should be most useful for professional Classicists and ancient historians, as well as for the general reader."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"Combining lucidity with scholarly rigour and displaying an informed and thoughtful response to the topic, this well-written book will be of particular value to university students and ancient historians. It deserves also to find a place in the wider market."--Times Higher Education Supplement
"A reliably up-to-date Hittite study in English.... A captivating vignette introduces each chapter, drawing readers into the lives of various social types...as well as festivals, gods, law, medicine, myth, and death.... This accessible social history is lively and rich in information, a valuable addition to college and university libraries."--Choice


Product Description
In dealing with a wide range of aspects of the life, activities, and customs of the Late Bronze Age Hittite world, this book complements the treatment of Hittite military and political history presented by the author in The Kingdom of the Hittites (OUP, 1998). Through quotations from the original sources and through the word pictures to which these give rise, the book aims at recreating, as far as is possible, the daily lives and experiences of a people who for a time became the supreme political and military power in the ancient Near East.

About the Author

Trevor Bryce is Honorary Research Consultant, University of Queensland, Australia.

John Dee: 1527-1608

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John Dee: 1527-1608 (Ibis Western Mystery Tradition) by Charlotte Fell Smith (Author), R. A. Gilbert (Introduction)

Book Description
John Dee (1527 - 1608) is most known for his work with Edward Kelley in contacting spirits and transcribing angelic language. Smith provides a clear retelling of their famous and tempestuous relationship and lays to rest some of the ridiculous stories about Dee. Charlotte Smith’s biography draws from Dee’s private diaries and several of his important works including The Book of the Mysteries and A True and Faithful Relation, bringing to light all his truly remarkable accomplishments. As a man of great learning, he fell under the suspicion of his less-gifted contemporaries and suffered rumor and even imprisonment. But for the most part, he was quite famous in his day, serving as mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer to the royal court of England. Smith credits him for initiating the creation of England’s National Library.

This is the first complete biography of the 14th-century scientist, philosopher, and magician.

Included in the book are 8 plates depicting some of Dee's works and pertinent memorabilia.

From the Publisher
The first complete biography of the 14th-century scientist, philosopher, and magician. Includes 8 plates depicting some of Dee's works and pertinent memorabilia. Essential for students who want a full understanding of the ground from which the Western esoteric arts have grown.

Christian Theology in Asia

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Christian Theology in Asia by Sebastian C. H. Kim (Editor)

Product Description
The majority of the world's Christians now live outside Europe and North America, and global Christianity is becoming increasingly diverse. Interest in the history and theology of churches in non-Western contexts is growing rapidly as 'old world' churches face this new reality. This book focuses on how Asian Christian theologies have been shaped by the interaction of Christian communities with the societies around them and how they relate to the specific historical contexts from which they have emerged. The distinctiveness of Asian Christianity is shown to be the outcome of dealing with various historical challenges. Questions addressed include:  How does Asian Christianity relate to local socio-cultural, religious and political environments?  What is distinctive about the historical development of Asian theologies?  How have Asian theologies contributed to contemporary theological discussions within world Christianity?

Book Description
 How does Asian Christianity relate to local socio-cultural and political environments?  What is distinctive about the historical development of Asian theologies?  How have Asian theologies contributed to contemporary theological discussions within world Christianity?

About the Author
Sebastian C. H. Kim is Professor of Theology and Public Life at the Faculty of Education and Theology, York St John University. His publications include In Search of Identity: Debates on Religious Conversion in India (2003).

The Cambridge Companion to Levinas

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The Cambridge Companion to Levinas (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy)
by Simon Critchley (Editor), Robert Bernasconi (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"[A] quite worthwile volume." Philosophy in Review

"This is an impressive collection of articles, which will appeal to neophytes as well as to the most seasoned veterans of Levinas." - Zahi Zalloua, Whitman College

Product Description
Emmanuel Levinas is now widely recognized alongside Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Sartre as one of the most important Continental philosophers of the twentieth century. His abiding concern was the primacy of the ethical relation to the other person and his central thesis was that ethics is first philosophy. His work has had a profound impact on a number of fields outside philosophy--such as theology, Jewish studies, literature and cultural theory, psychotherapy, sociology, political theory, international relations theory and critical legal theory.

Book Description
Emmanuel Levinas is now widely recognised alongside Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Sartre as one of the most important Continental philosophers of the twentieth century. His abiding concern was the primacy of the ethical relation to the other person and his central thesis was that ethics is first philosophy. His work has also had a profound impact on a number of fields outside philosophy such as theology, Jewish studies, literature and cultural theory, psychotherapy, sociology, political theory, international relations theory and critical legal theory.

Download Description
Emmanuel Levinas is now widely recognised alongside Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Sartre as one of the most important Continental philosophers of the twentieth century. His abiding concern was the primacy of the ethical relation to the other person and his central thesis was that ethics is first philosophy. His work has also had a profound impact on a number of fields outside philosophy such as theology, Jewish studies, literature and cultural theory, psychotherapy, sociology, political theory, international relations theory and critical legal theory. This volume contains overviews of Levinas's contribution in a number of fields, and includes detailed discussions of his early and late work, his relation to Judaism and talmudic commentary, and his contributions to aesthetics and the philosophy of religion.

About the Author
Simon Critchley is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Essex, Directeur de Programme at the College International de Philosophie and Humboldt Fellow at the University of Frankfurt.

Robert Bernasconi is Professor of Philosophy, Moss Professor of Philosophy at the University of Memphis

The Oxford Book of American Poetry

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The Oxford Book of American Poetry by David Lehman (Author), John Brehm (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"David Lehman's Oxford anthology is the single most important volume of American poetry in a generation. While we can all quibble about inclusions and exclusions (even in a 1,000-page selection), Lehman's eye--and his ear--have produced a work that will last us well into the new century."--Ashton Nichols, Dickinson College
"It can't get much better than this."--Rochelle Moore, Associated Content
"The book is not only a sound historical survey, but also gives the reader a powerful taste of poetry's impact upon the wider world."--The Economist
"Indeed, for the reader otherwise disinclined to pick up a volume of poetry, you may also find yourself enjoying the selections in this collection. It will be a purchase that will stay with you far longer than any meal at a fancy restaurant upon which you might spend the money. And it will be better for you as well."--The Washington Times
"There is no one more qualified to undertake such a project...a brilliant updating of the previous edition."--James Tate, a member of the Academy of American Arts and Letters and winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize in poetry


Product Description
Here is the eagerly awaited new edition of The Oxford Book of American Poetry brought completely up to date and dramatically expanded by poet David Lehman. It is a rich, capacious volume, featuring the work of more than 200 poets-almost three times as many as the 1976 edition. With a succinct and often witty head note introducing each author, it is certain to become the definitive anthology of American poetry for our time.
Lehman has gathered together all the works one would expect to find in a landmark collection of American poetry, from Whitman's Crossing Brooklyn Ferry to Stevens's The Idea of Order at Key West, and from Eliot's The Waste Land to Ashbery's Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But equally important, the editor has significantly expanded the range of the anthology. The book includes not only writers born since the previous edition, but also many fine poets overlooked in earlier editions or little known in the past but highly deserving of attention. The anthology confers legitimacy on the Objectivist poets; the so-called Proletariat poets of the 1930s; famous poets who fell into neglect or were the victims of critical backlash (Edna St. Vincent Millay); poets whose true worth has only become clear with the passing of time (Weldon Kees). Among poets missing from Richard Ellmann's 1976 volume but published here are W. H. Auden, Charles Bukowski, Donald Justice, Carolyn Kizer, Kenneth Koch, Stanley Kunitz, Emma Lazarus, Mina Loy, Howard Moss, Lorine Niedecker, George Oppen, James Schuyler, Elinor Wylie, and Louis Zukosky. Many more women are represented: outstanding poets such as Josephine Jacobsen, Josephine Miles, May Swenson. Numerous African-American poets receive their due, and unexpected figures such as the musicians Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Robert Johnson have a place in this important work.
This stunning collection redefines the great canon of American poetry from its origins in the 17th century right up to the present. It is a must-have anthology for anyone interested in American literature and a book that is sure to be consulted, debated, and treasured for years to come.
Web Site

A companion web site is now available at www.oxfordpoetry.com

About the Author

David Lehman is Poetry Coordinator of the New School Writing Program in New York City. His most recent books of poetry are The Evening Sun and When a Woman Loves a Man and he has written five books of critical prose, including The Last Avant-Garde: The Making of the New York School of Poets and The Perfect Murder: A Study in Detection. He founded The Best American Poetry series in 1988 and continues to serve as general editor of this prestigious anthology. He also edited Great American Prose Poems: From Poe to the Present and co-edited The KGB Bar Book of Poems, based on the reading series he directed with Star Black in New York's East Village.
John Brehm (Associate Editor) is a poet and free-lance writer. His works include The Way Water Moves and Sea of Faith, which won a Brittingham Prize for Poetry. He lives in New York City.