What would it mean to be able to live a plain life? Would a plain life just be an unambitious one a drab or routine life, without colour, variation, unknowing or luck? Or would a plain life be one in which we'd fret slightly less, suspect ourselves less, and thus listen to ourselves and others in new ways? We may not need to do more and be more in the quiet spaces already within us, lurking in the interstices of our days and conversations, there are ways and choreographies to nurture a plainer, saner, odder, less reactive and therefore less terrifying life.
In Plain Life, Antonia Pont questions our thinking about capacities, virtue, envy, wanting, love and kindness suggesting that it might be fine, more than enough, indeed so much, to live a plain life.
'Read this precise, wild and tender offering, and be sure to ask yourself how you feel after ... Plain Life is challenging and generous.' Debra Dank
'Fizzing with energy and ideas, Plain Life is a practical, philosophical heart to heart with your most spirited friend. Alain de Botton for hot anti-capitalists.' Briohny Doyle
'Deeply alert to the challenges of our times, and extraordinarily well read, Antonia Pont delivers us a handbook for life that is politically radical, refreshingly intellectual, and wholly attentive to embodiment and being. Informed and informing, it is a seriously joyful tour de force.' Julienne van Loon
'An intriguing volume that is reminiscent of the works of Alain de Botton, Maggie Nelson and Rebecca Solnit.' Heidi Maier, InDaily QLD
'Pont's elliptical, playful, philosophical style requires readers slow down and observe the workings of their own minds, be curious about the fears they've suppressed and dare to feel them, and become aware of how they collude in their own misery.' Sydney Morning Herald / The Age
'Mixing academic reflection with engaging prose, Plain Life is a thought-provoking book.' Jeff Popple, The Canberra Daily
]]>It was a chance encounter in the forest with a purple mushroom that completely changed photographer Stephen Axford's view of the world. He became obsessed with documenting the largely unexplored kingdom of fungi and, alongside his partner, Catherine Marciniak, capturing the beauty and diversity of fungi in some of the most remote regions on Earth. There are an estimated 25 million species of fungi found all over the world, yet with only around 155,000 described so far, there is so much left to discover.
From glowing mushrooms in ancient forests to bizarre, alien-like forms, these extraordinary organisms will challenge how you see the natural world.
'A stunning exploration of a hidden world. These are among the most remarkable images of fungi I've ever seen, woven into relation by a series of writings that beautifully illuminate the mysteries and wonders of fungal life.' Merlin Sheldrake, author of Entangled Life
'A wondrous journey through epic fungal encounters, with sublime photography and beautiful tales.' Giuliana Furci, Founding Director, Fungi Foundation
]]>Stephen Axford is renowned for his macro fungi photography, which has been published and exhibited worldwide. His fungi time-lapses appear in award-winning documentaries such as Planet Earth 2, Fantastic Fungi and Fungi: Web of Life. He co-writes and presents Planet Fungi's documentaries, capturing the intricate beauty of fungi globally.
Dr Tom May is a mycologist at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Australia, with a distinguished research career and a passion for communicating and educating about fungi. Former President of Fungimap, he co-authored Wild Mushrooming: A Guide for Foragers and was awarded the Nancy T. Burbidge Medal and the Australian Natural History Medallion.
]]>Do trees talk to one another? Can a plant use up the oxygen in a room while you sleep? What is a native plant and what is a weed? Are some plants truly immortal?
Through 50 beautifully crafted essays, former director of preeminent botanic gardens and self-confessed plant punk Tim Entwisle shines a gentle light on everyday questions about plants and gardens, guiding the reader through fact and fiction.
Including the best of his contributions to gardening magazines and newspapers over four decades, as well as 24 pieces written specially for this book, The Sceptical Botanist is a tour de force of investigative writing from one of Australia's most thoughtful and inquisitive botanical minds.
Pick up The Sceptical Botanist and you'll never look at a plant or garden in the same way again!
'Entwisle is a confident explorer and guide. Whether he's exploring our relationships with plants, the way that scientists think, or the reasons for some very unnatural beliefs about nature, his humour, integrity and lightly-worn knowledge shine through.' Professor Jonathan Drori, CBE
]]>By putting this collection in dialogue with the National Gallery of Australia's rich collection of modernist artists, such as Cossington Smith, John Passmore, Grace Crowley, Hirschfeld Mack, Inge King and Rosemary Madigan, we can illuminate the electrifying way in which ideas, techniques and artists moved across the borders of space, time and culture.
This authoritative publication stages a conversation between European and Australian art across a period of revolution and reinvention throughout the twentieth century. A major collaborative essay researched and written by exhibition curators David Greenhalgh, Natalie Zimmer and Deirdre Cannon explores how these artists took inspiration from one other and the circulation of images, objects and artworks that marked the modern age. This curatorial team are joined by other scholars including Dr Gabriel Montua, Head of Museum Berggruen, Neue Nationalgalerie Stiftung Preuischer Kulturbesitz and Simeran Maxwell also examine key artists and their works in details through a selection of annotated plates.
Featuring over 140 colour reproductions and a conveniently compact flat-reading format with gatefold, this rich publication not only demonstrates how these artists envisioned new ways of looking at the world, but provides a new way of seeing these artists within transnational contexts.
]]>Griffith Review 89: Here Be Monsters surveys beasts and bogeymen past and present, real and imagined, to peel back the layers of our social and cultural anxieties. What are we most afraid of? When is monstrosity alluring rather than frightening? And what form might the monsters of the future take?
]]>Lisa Fuller is an award-winning Murri writer living on Ngunnawal and Ngambri lands (Canberra). She won the 2017 David Unaipon Award for an Unpublished Indigenous Writer and the 2018 Varuna Eleanor Dark Flagship Fellowship, and she was a joint winner of the 2018 Copyright Agency Fellowships for First Nations Writers. Lisa's young adult novel, Ghost Bird, won the Griffith University Young Adult Book Award in the Queensland Literary Awards, the Norma K Hemming Award and the Readings Young Adult Prize in 2020, and was shortlisted for the 2021 Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature and 2022 Indigenous Writers' Prize at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards.
]]>The first comprehensive cookbook to fully cover all aspects of Japanese cuisine with 600 recipes!
This book has been a lifetime in the making. Bicultural author Makiko Itoh was born in Tokyo and grew up in New York, where her mother ran the leading Japanese restaurant for two decades. She has since developed a career as a successful bilingual food writer and translator, uniquely positioned to explain the cuisine to non-Japanese.
Her book answers all the questions foreigners typically have about one of the world's greatest cuisines, including:
Itoh's mission is to demystify Japanese cuisine for non-Japanese. Her book contains 400 beautiful colour photos with clearly-presented recipes interspersed with fascinating essays and sidebars explaining all aspects of Japan's unique food culture. A must-read book for every Japanese food lover!
]]>Insects are the most abundant wildlife on the planet but also the least observed. This incisive field companion highlights the basic tools for watching insects with all of our senses, covers some best habitats and circumstances for seeing the most diversity, and shares tips for attracting desirable insects to your yard and garden. With wonderful illustrations by Samantha Gallagher, Bugwatching explains why this rewarding activity is for everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender identity, level of affluence, ability, or disability. When you become a bugwatcher, you join a community of supportive and energetic people. The potential for personal and scientific discovery is virtually limitless.
]]>Samantha Gallagher is an artist and illustrator who specialises in insects.
]]>Tyrannosaurus rex is the world's favorite dinosaur, adored by the public and the subject of intense study and debate by paleontologists. This stunningly illustrated book brings together everything we have learned about T. rex the 'King of the Tyrant Lizards' since it was first given its famous name in 1905. It presents these creatures as science knows them rather than the version portrayed in movies, revealing them to be dramatically different, and far more amazing, than ever imagined. With numerous original paintings and diagrams by the author, King Tyrant draws on the latest discoveries to offer a modern understanding of Tyrannosaurus, pulling back the curtain of media hype that often obscures these extraordinary extinct animals while cementing their reputation as the most formidable carnivores of the Mesozoic.
]]>Airily dancing over rivers and ponds, the thousands of colourful dragonfly and damselfly species that cohabit our planet may seem of little importance. Few life-forms, however, convey the condition of the most limiting resource on land and life's most bountiful environment as well as they can: while the adults are exceptional aerial hunters, their nymphs are all confined to freshwater. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the World showcases their beauty and diversity while shedding light on how they evolved into the vital symbols of planetary health we celebrate today.
]]>Wild Collections explores some of the fascinating, strange and unique stories behind more than 15 million specimens cared for within CSIRO's National Research Collections Australia. More than just pinned insects and pressed plants, these are stories of scientific discovery and cutting-edge research. This book offers us a rare glimpse into the world-class collections and the wonders they contain.
Go behind the scenes to discover species lost, found and saved, and the evolving knowledge and techniques it takes to record and understand our unique biodiversity. And meet some of the amazing scientists using this knowledge to protect and conserve our natural world.
'Our people have hundreds of stories to tell you. CSIRO is a magical place. In this inspiring book you'll discover why.' Dr Doug Hilton AO, Chief Executive, CSIRO
]]>In this groundbreaking book, Professor Bryan Horrigan provides a roadmap for navigating the complexity of CSR and the current controversies surrounding it. How is the corporate landscape changing for Australia and the world on corporate diversity, climate disclosures, and social and environmental harms? Do Australian businesses, the professions advising them, and even universities all have social licences to operate? Should they all speak and act publicly on controversial social and environmental issues, or stay out of the arena of partisan politics altogether?
How far should corporate governance standards for ASX-listed companies go in addressing social, environmental and climate issues? Do Australian company directors face legal liability for mismanaging climate risk and disclosure, and what safeguards can protect them? And how does the Trump administration's war on so-called 'wokeness' create ripple effects for corporate Australia, Australian politics and Australian universities?
In Corporate Social Responsibility in an Age of Existential Threats, Professor Horrigan brings a unique blend of academic, practical and policy expertise to his insightful and provocative discussion of these topics. This book is essential reading for those in the public, private, not-for-profit and university sectors whose work concerns business and corporations in society.
]]>From 2013 to 2024, Professor Horrigan served as dean of the Faculty of Law at Monash University the longest-serving dean in the sixty-year history of the faculty. He currently serves as one of only two Special Advisers to the vice-chancellor of the university. He is one of only a few Australian law deans to have more than twenty years' experience simultaneously in commercial legal practice, university management and the legal academy. In various roles, he has confidentially advised numerous leaders across the public, private and university sectors.
The Australian Government appointed Professor Horrigan to a three-member expert panel to review three major pieces of national business regulation in 201011. All of the panel's recommendations were accepted and became law.
]]>Blue is the most mysterious and evocative of colours. It can signify the beginning of love and the end of life. It can evoke tranquillity or tension. For Ted Hughes, blue is a 'kindly spirit', an 'electrified', 'thoughtful...guardian'; for Joni Mitchell, it is a sigh-filled song, a 'foggy lullaby'. For Henry David Thoreau, the 'blue ground' is the source of 'new truth'. And Goethe writes: 'We love to contemplate blue, not because it advances us, but because it draws us after it.'
In the nineteenth edition of this creative anthology, writers from Monash University and beyond share pieces that span fiction, nonfiction, poetry and experimental forms. They explore shades of blue that ravish the senses, narratives saturated in melancholic hues, and poetry that hums with the electric charge of blue.
]]>Adara Rose Luis is a writer, scholar, and poet. Her research examines male violence against girls and women in children's and young adult literature. Adara has presented at international conferences and published poetry, and has been involved in academic editing roles.
Yong Li holds a bachelor's degree and a PhD from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. She is a lecturer in the School of Marxism at Shanghai Maritime University and a visiting scholar in Chinese Studies at Monash University. Her recent publications appear in Waste Management, Journal of Environmental Management and Environmental Research Communications, among others. Her research interests encompass pro-environmental psychology and behaviour, political trust and NPO management.
Cassie Kropp (they/she) is studying a Master of Research in Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University. Their plays have been performed in the Anywhere Theatre Festival in Brisbane but now they focus more on academic writing.
]]>Climate change does not affect everyone equally. While many scientists focus on studying climate change as a physics problem, Friederike Otto, one of the world's most renowned climate scientists, sees it as a symptom of the global crisis of inequality, not its cause. In this ambitious, fast-paced book, she offers concrete examples of how extreme weather events caused by climate change reveal uncomfortable truths about the failures of political and social infrastructures around the world.
Comparing eight extreme weather events including heat waves in North America, floods in Pakistan, droughts in Madagascar, and wildfires in Australia Otto reveals how climate change is affecting the world's most vulnerable, whether they are women working on farms in Ghana during heat waves, or elderly people who died during floods in Germany. In particular, Otto examines the Global North's extractionist view of the Global South, a view that ensures elites are protected while others bear the brunt of the climate disaster.
Climate Injustice shares the stories of real people, shining a light on the real damage inflicted on real lives. Above all, it shows how racism, colonialism, sexism, and climate change are interconnected, and how positive changes on one level can lead to positive effects on another. Authored by the co-founder of World Weather Attribution, a cutting-edge scientific method that pinpointed the role of climate change in extreme weather events for the first time, Climate Injustice offers a groundbreaking view on the fires, floods, heatwaves, and storms that are wreaking havoc at an alarming pace.
Inequality and injustice are at the core of what makes climate change a problem for humanity. Fairness and global justice must therefore be at the core of the solution. Climate justice concerns everyone.
'I can't recommend this book highly enough. It will change how you think about the most important story of our time.' Jeff Goodell, New York Times bestselling author of The Heat Will Kill You First
'Searing in her clarity... Fredi Otto demonstrates, irrefutably, how the North's fossil-fuel-powered "extractivist" economic model drives global climate disruption at the expense of the living world. Climate Injustice prosecutes the case; all it needs now is a courtroom, preferably in The Hague.' John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World
]]>Charlotte Beradt began having unsettling dreams after Adolf Hitler took power in 1933. She envisioned herself being shot at, tortured and scalped, surrounded by Nazis in disguise, and breathlessly fleeing across fields with storm troopers at her heels. Shaken by these nightmares and banned as a Jew from working, she began secretly collecting dreams from her friends and neighbours, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Disguising these 'diaries of the night' in code and concealing them in the spines of books from her extensive library, she smuggled them out of the country one by one.
Available again for the first time since its publication in the 1960s, this sensational book brings together this uniquely powerful dream record, offering a visceral understanding of how terror is internalised and how propaganda colonises the imagination. After Beradt herself fled Germany for New York, she collected these dream accounts and began to trace the common symbols and themes that appeared in the collective unconscious of a traumatised nation. The fear of dictatorship was ever-present. Dreams of thought control, even the prohibition of dreaming itself, bore witness to the collapse of outer and inner worlds.
Now in a haunting new translation by Damion Searls and with an incisive foreword by Dunya Mikhail, The Third Reich of Dreams provides a raw, unfiltered, and prophetic look inside the experience of living through Hitler's terror.
]]>Damion Searls is an award-winning translator and writer whose translation of Jon Fosse's novel A New Name was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize.
Dunya Mikhail is an Iraqi American poet whose books include The War Works Hard and The Beekeeper: Rescuing the Stolen Women of Iraq, which was longlisted for the National Book Award.
]]>Tattooing within Indigenous communities is a time-honored practice that binds the tattoo recipient to a deeply felt collective history. More than mere decoration, tattoos embody cultural values, ancestral ties, and spiritual beliefs. Indigenous Tattoo Traditions captures ancient tribal tattooing practices and their contemporary resurgence, highlighting a beautiful aspect of humanity's shared cultural heritage.
Transporting readers through history, Lars Krutak explores the art and customs of tattooing across numerous ancestral lands, including Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, the Arctic, Oceania, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Siberia. He illustrates how tattoos function as a form of writing that defines and structures community life, performing as rites of passage, symbols of rank, and signs of marital or religious devotion, among other facets of culture. We are introduced to the heavily tattooed Li women of China's Hainan Island with their elaborate facial and body tattoos, the bold indelible markings of Papua New Guinea's Indigenous peoples, and innovative cultural tattoo practitioners who are rebuilding a skin-marking legacy for future generations to come.
With numerous images published for the first time and an illuminating foreword by cultural historian Sean Mallon, Indigenous Tattoo Traditions opens a window onto one of the world's most vibrant yet misunderstood mediums of human expression.
]]>Sean Mallon is senior curator of Pacific histories and cultures at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
]]>Being human entails an astonishingly complex interplay of biology and culture, and while there are important differences between women and men, there is a lot more variation and overlap than we may realise. Sex Is a Spectrum offers a bold new paradigm for understanding the biology of sex, drawing on the latest science to explain why the binary view of the sexes is fundamentally flawed and why having XX or XY chromosomes isn't as conclusive as some would have us believe.
In this lively and provocative book, leading biological anthropologist Agustn Fuentes begins by tracing the origin and evolution of sex, describing the many ways in the animal kingdom of being female, male, or both. Turning to humans, he presents compelling evidence from the fossil and archaeological record that attests to the diversity of our ancestors' sexual bonds, gender roles, and family and community structures, and shows how the same holds true in the lived experiences of people today. Fuentes tackles hot-button debates around sports and medicine, explaining why we can acknowledge that females and males are not the same while also embracing a biocultural reality where none of us fits neatly into only one of two categories.
Bringing clarity and reason to a contentious issue, Sex Is a Spectrum shares a scientist's perspective on why a binary view of sex and gender is not only misguided but harmful, and why there are multitudes of ways of being human.
]]>Today's Muslim world is in upheaval: legalists and mystics engage in intense debates, radical groups invoke Sharia, Muslim immigrants in the West face prejudice and discrimination, and Muslim feminists advocate new interpretations of the Koran. At the same time, Islam is mischaracterised as unitary and unchanging by people ranging from right-wing Western politicians claiming that Islam is incompatible with democracy to conservative Muslims dreaming of returning to the golden age of the prophet. Against this contentious backdrop, this book provides an essential and timely new history of the religion in all its astonishing richness and diversity as it has been practiced by Muslims around the world, from seventh-century Mecca to today.
Most popular histories of Islam continue to repeat conventional pietistic accounts. In contrast, John Tolan draws on decades of new historical research that has transformed knowledge of the origins and development of the Muslim faith. He shows how the youngest of the three great monotheisms arose in close contact with Jewish, Christian, and other religious traditions in a mixture of cultures, including Arab, Greek, Persian, and Turkish; how Islam spread across an enormous territory encompassing hundreds of languages and cultures; how Muslims have forged widely different beliefs and practices over fourteen centuries; and how Islamic history provides crucial context for understanding contemporary debates in the Muslim world.
At a time when much talk about Islam is filled with misunderstanding, stereotypes, and bias, this book provides a fresh and lucid portrait of the continuous and ongoing transformations of a religion of tremendous variety and complexity.
]]>Inspired by ancient classical poets, master calligrapher Hassan Massoudy homage to the depth of poetry through visual expression. In more than one hundred calligraphies, he responds to these timeless poems with his signature broad strokes and vibrant colours, capturing the words and wisdom of our greatest poets from Al Mutanabbi, Rumi and Khalil Gibran, to Socrates, Shakespeare and Jacques Prevert. From evocations to the immensity of the desert to soulful expressions of unrequited love, Massoudy pays breathes new life into the classics with vibrant artistry.
Beautifully illustrated, The Poet and the Calligrapher is the perfect gift and journey for poets, art lovers and dreamers alike.
]]>Bryophytes are a highly diverse group of plants found in nearly all parts of the world and across a range of habitats. The term 'bryophyte' describes plants of three closely related lineages: the mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Ancient in their makeup, bryophytes disperse by spores rather than seeds and grow no more than a few centimetres high, carpeting forest floors or clinging to rocks and tree trunks. Instead of conducting fluids internally (like vascular plants), they absorb water and nutrients externally across the whole body of the plant. Such strategies have enabled bryophytes to survive, and indeed thrive, through the millennia. Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts of the World makes sense of their miniature world, differentiating between the three lineages and delving into their evolution, anatomy, and life cycles. The result is an unprecedented in-depth look at these exquisitely beautiful and often overlooked organisms.
]]>This fascinating guide for budding fashion designers and illustrators shows you how to draw human figures accurately with a full range of fabrics, garments and accessories. It explains clearly all the techniques used by professional designers and illustrators with hundreds of examples to study and learn from!
Author Hiroko Fukuchi is ones of Japan's leading fashion illustration instructors, and she shows you the tricks of the trade needed to draw models, apparel and accessories of every kind!
The detailed chapters in this book present all the essential information you need to know:
This all-in-one fashion illustration guide provides all the information you would learn when taking a course at one of Tokyo's leading fashion design schools!
]]>Curious about astrology?
Take a deeper look at the zodiac and find out what it can reveal in this concise, accessible introduction.
Explore the zodiac, and see how it affects your life! Astrology is an ancient art in which the movements of the stars and planets can divine the future. Find out more about the practice, its history, and each of the 12 sun signs and then follow the detailed information on how to create a natal chart and use it to craft personalised horoscopes.
]]>By studying the hand's shape and lines of the palm, you can divine your own or someone else's past, present, and future. Cassandra Eason lays out the basics of this ancient practice by discussing the importance of 'life lines', 'heart lines', and other truths written in our palms. It's a fascinating way to discover more about our own lives and the lives of others.
]]>From fairy tales to your garden,Enchanted Plantsis an illustrated treasure trove of the lore and magic in the kingdom of plants.
Take a walk through mystical, magical, and folkloric gardens and discover the plants and flowers that have captured our hearts and minds for centuries. Will you dare to pick a golden apple or seize the perfect rose? Will you sneak through the gilded gates of the poison garden where plants both alluring and life-saving intertwine?From the baneful bog to the garden gate, plant lover and lover of the bizarre Varla Ventura brings together forgotten lore of plants for the ultimate romp through a botanical wonderland, including excerpts from fairy tales and a lively discussion of each plant's legendary magical and medicinal properties. Don't forget your scissors.
Enchanted Plantsis arranged by general environment:
Each chapter contains a cultivated selection of plants, arranged alphabetically by popular common name, with additional information including botanical name, common names, folklore, ethnobotanical properties, magical and occult properties, and modern usage if applicable.
]]>Discover how psychic you really are with this comprehensive and practical guide to developing and honing your psychic skills. Naturally Psychic shows you how to awaken your natural psychic abilities and experiment with psychic tools to get answers, guide your decisions, and enrich your life.
For the curious seeker as well as the skilled practitioner, Naturally Psychic offers techniques, tips, and tools designed to awaken, refresh, and sharpen one's natural psychic gifts by
Karen Harrison has helped many thousands of people awaken their psychic selves and improve their daily lives. Now she offers that in a book. This title was previously published asThe Everyday Psychic.
]]>With a bright colour palette and bold graphics, this unique seventy-eight-card full-colour tarot deck deconstructs and reexamines the traditional symbolism found in the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, opening the door for fresh insight into a classic. Tarot Disassembled allows the user to connect with the tarot in a completely intuitive way, free from any pictorial narrative around gender, skin colour, age, size, ability, or any other human constructs.
The simplicity of the symbols makes it a great first deck for beginners, and pros will enjoy unpeeling the traditional tarot like an onion discovering layer upon layer of meaning in the richness of simple imagery.
]]>The Tarot Disassembled Guidebook provides fresh insight into interpreting the traditional symbolism found in the tarot. In this companion book to the Tarot Disassembled card deck, author and creator Jennifer Cooper Steidley has deconstructed the symbolism, presenting it in bold graphics, allowing the user to connect with the tarot in a completely intuitive way free from any pictorial narrative around gender, skin colour, age, size, ability, or any other human constructs.
Sometimes we need to take something apart in order to appreciate what's in it. The same is true for the ingredients of the tarot: the individual symbols that make up the complex picture of a tarot card. There is potential for deep understanding that comes with the act of disassembling, and this guidebook deconstructs each of the seventy-eight cards. The Fool card is shown as a satchel, a dog, the sun, a feather, a flower, a mountain. Each card remains undeniably recognisable. The deconstructed simplicity allows tarot's rich symbolism to become clear, and readers can see how the symbols wind their way through each card in the deck.
Tarot Disassembled is based on the symbology of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot arguably the most iconic and widely used deck in the world. Once the disassembling of tarot symbols is fully understood, you can begin to apply this deconstructing technique to other decks to find the inner patterns. This unique and innovative guidebook includes keywords, astrological and planetary associations, and elemental associations for each tarot card. It can be used with any deck based on the Rider-Waite system or as a companion to the Tarot Disassembled card deck, sold separately.
]]>**Longlisted for the Highland Book Prize**
You scramble up over the dunes of an isolated beach. You climb to the summit of a lonely hill. You pick your way through the eerie hush of a forest. And then you find them. The traces of the past. Perhaps they are marked by a tiny symbol on your map, perhaps not. There are no plaques to explain their fading presence before you, nothing to account for what they once were who made them, lived in them or abandoned them. Now they are merged with the landscape. They are being reclaimed by nature. They are wild history.
In this book acclaimed author and presenter James Crawford introduces many such places all over the country, from the ruins of prehistoric forts and ancient, arcane burial sites, to abandoned bothies and boathouses, and the derelict traces of old, faded industry.
PRAISE FOR JAMES CRAWFORD
The Edge of the Plain: How Borders Make and Break Our World
'Crawford travels widely to make his points in a text reminiscent of those of Barry Lopez or Robert Macfarlane...A thoughtful consideration of the imaginary lines that hold meaning for so many' Kirkus Reviews
'Crawford's essays, through vivid accounts of historical episodes and contemporary problems, illuminate how the world acquired its current shape...Eye-opening' Literary Review
Fallen Glory: The Lives and Deaths of History's Greatest Buildings
'Conveys superbly these absorbing tales of hubris, power, violence and decay' Sunday Times
'Witty and memorable...moving as well as myth-busting' Mary Beard, Times Literary Supplement
Scotland from the Sky
'A stunning combination of aviation adventure and historical detective work' Press and Journal
'Crawford is a genuine, risk-taking adventurer' Daily Express
]]>Shakespeare's plays and poems remain as beloved in the twenty-first century as they were in the sixteenth. For all the years between us, the world he inhabited was much like our own afflicted by political turmoil, divisiveness, war, extreme weather, recurrent plagues, the fouling of natural resources on which everyone relied, and discrimination against people who were different. The bard's remedy for these troubles was to offer respite and inspiration to his audience through his writing.
In this book, author Kim Bradley teases out the inspirational messages in Shakespeare's works. Every chapter is a journey through one of his most notable plays, each with actionable life lessons to be learned from his writing. Explore the power of acts of service with Twelfth Night, or the joy of forgiveness with The Tempest. From the importance of hospitality to the benefits of communing with nature, Shakespeare's wise instruction can help you master the art of living.
"Yes, there is sickness, death, conflict, and division in today's world', Bradley writes. 'More important, however, there are sunrises, starry skies, friendships, and love. Shakespeare invites us to enjoy the latter while remembering the former and shows how balancing an appreciation for both is key to living the good life.'
]]>Life thrives in the deepest, darkest recesses of Earth's crust from methane seeps in the ocean floor to the highest reaches of Arctic permafrost and it is unlike anything seen on the surface. Intraterrestrials shares what scientists are learning about these strange types of microbial life and how research expeditions to some of the most extreme locales on the planet are broadening our understanding of what life is and how its earliest forms may have evolved.
Drawing on her experiences and those of her fellow scientists working in challenging and often dangerous conditions, Karen Lloyd takes readers on an adventure from the bottom of the ocean through the jungles of Central America to the high-altitude volcanoes of the Andes. Only discovered in recent decades, 'intraterrestrials' subsurface beings that are truly alien are demonstrating how life can exist in boiling water, pure acid, and bleach. They enable us to peer back to the very dawn of life on Earth, disclosing deep branches on the tree of life that push the limits of what we thought possible. Some can 'breathe' rocks or even electrons. Others may live for hundreds of thousands of years or longer. All of them are living in ways that are totally foreign to us surface dwellers.
Blending captivating storytelling with the latest science, Intraterrestrials reveals what microbes in Earth's deep subsurface biosphere can tell us about the prospects for finding life on other planets and the future of life on our own.
]]>The Middle East is in upheaval: a widening chasm between state and society, the failure of governing elites to address citizens' genuine grievances, massive economic mismanagement all made worse by repeated interventions by Western powers. Why has political change been so difficult to achieve? In The Great Betrayal, Fawaz Gerges argues that the convergence of political authoritarianism, meddling by the West, and the effects of prolonged regional conflicts have produced political paralysis and economic stagnation. The agency of everyday people has been thwarted by an authoritarian status quo that is maintained by a powerful partnership of external and internal forces.
Gerges traces more than a century of consequential events in the region, from the end of the Ottoman Empire and the European carve-up of the Middle East to the Iranian Revolution and the Arab Spring uprisings. He shows how the people of the Middle East have been systematically denied self-determination, political representation, and effective government. Gerges finds that the region, with its diversity, variability, and volatility, defies abstract grand theories; previous accounts that have attributed the Middle East's problems to any one cause such as modernism, ignore the complexity and specificity of the issues. What can we learn from the Middle East's vexed history? Gerges is optimistic, declaring that the region's future will be determined not by dictators and their superpower patrons but by a growing population of Arab and Muslim youth who demand to be treated as citizens and not as subjects.
]]>**Selected as a Financial Times 'Book to Read'**
Vladimir Putin's first invasion of Ukraine, in 2014, set off a global economic clash, as the West used its clout with international markets to deter and penalise the Kremlin. The battlelines of this 'war by other means' traversed a series of deep economic connections, built up during Russia's oil, gas and commodities boom: global equity and capital markets, and transnational kleptocracy.
Maximilian Hess's startling book lifts the lid on Russia's response to Western sanctions, and the ensuing skirmishes in London's courts, on Swiss trading desks and in boardrooms in New Delhi. He explores how pipelines, mines, loans and crypto-markets were weaponised. This narrative sets the stage for Putin's all-out assault on Kyiv in February 2022, which turned financial, food and fuel markets into bona fide battlefields, bringing the fight into everyone's home, from Pennsylvania to Pakistan.
Rather than a 'new Cold War', we are witnessing a conflict over finance, energy and capital markets. How such economic warfare turns out will determine the future of liberalism and democracy; it will also set a precedent for economic relations between the West and China, as the two diverge into rival spheres of influence and power.
'Hess examines how Russia's response to the west's economic sanctions following the first invasion of Ukraine in 2014 helped to set the stage for [the current] conflict.' Financial Times
'Timely.' Diplomatic Courier
'Much has been said about Putin's background in the KGB, but Hess makes a convincing case that his days in the St. Petersburg government, when he served as a liaison between the city, foreign business and, occasionally, criminal underworld, were just as formative.' The Washington Post
'An outstanding account, filled with insights and details. If you want to understand why we are already in an age of Global Conflict, there is no better place to start.' Peter Frankopan
]]>There is a growing problem in the professional services industry that is often acknowledged but rarely discussed: clients even long-standing ones for whom firms have consistently delivered unquestioned value are much less loyal to those firms and partners than they once were. This dramatic shift in client behaviour has rendered traditional approaches to business development not only ineffective but counterproductive.
But top performers have figured out a radical new approach that is redefining what it means to be a rainmaker in today's professional services market.
Drawing on a comprehensive, quantitative study of nearly three thousand partners spanning law, accounting, consulting, investment banking, executive search, and public relations The Activator Advantage identifies five types of partners found across the professional services landscape and shows how only one of them the Activator drives consistent growth.
Activators deeply embed business development habits into their daily workflow, aggressively leverage their internal and external networks, and proactively deliver both business and personal value to clients all of which not only helps shield them from the vagaries of modern client buying behaviour but also lays the groundwork for more loyal, longer-lasting relationships.
Packed with eye-opening data, counterintuitive insights, and robust case examples, The Activator Advantage provides the road map for any professional services partner or firm leader looking to chart a path to greater client engagement, internal collaboration, and firm profitability in the new era of fading client loyalty.
]]>Rory Channer is a founding partner at DCM Insights and was previously Chief Business Development Officer at McDermott Will & Emery.
Karen Freeman is a partner at DCM Insights and was previously a Senior Manager of Learning at McKinsey & Company.
Ted McKenna is a founding partner of DCM Insights and coauthor, with Matthew Dixon, of The JOLT Effect. He was previously a Global Knowledge Leader at Russell Reynolds Associates.
]]>Increasingly, people report feeling overlooked, ignored, and underappreciated at work. Simply put, they don't feel like they matter to their leaders or organisations and it's taking a toll. This hidden epidemic of insignificance is fueling a mental health crisis, intensifying loneliness, and, for organisations, driving disengagement, turnover, and low performance.
The good news is that leaders can learn the skills to ensure that everyone around them feels valued and knows how they add value at work. Through a captivating exploration of the emerging science of mattering and drawing from hands-on work in hundreds of diverse industries and organisations, researcher and speaker Zach Mercurio reveals how mattering to others is a fundamental yet often overlooked requirement for thriving.
He introduces a simple yet effective framework for making daily interactions with your people more meaningful:
Filled with practical advice, helpful exercises, and inspiring real-world examples, The Power of Mattering equips leaders at all levels with the tools they need to revitalise their teams and entire organisations by showing people that they matter.
]]>If you read nothing else on leading with purpose, read this book. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you define, communicate, and fulfill your organisation's purpose and deliver results.
This book will inspire you to:
This collection of articles includes 'Put Purpose at the Core of Your Strategy,' by Thomas W. Malnight, Ivy Buche, and Charles Dhanaraj; 'What's the Purpose of Your Purpose?', by Jonathan Knowles, B. Tom Hunsaker, Hannah Grove, and Alison James; 'Creating a Purpose-Driven Organization', by Robert E. Quinn and Anjan V. Thakor; 'How Customers Can Rally Your Troops', by Adam Grant; 'The Dual-Purpose Playbook', by Julie Battilana, Anne-Claire Pache, Metin Sengul, and Marissa Kimsey; 'The New CEO Activists', by Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel; 'Competing on Social Purpose', by Omar Rodriguez-Vila and Sundar Bharadwaj; 'The Messy but Essential Pursuit of Purpose', by Ranjay Gulati; 'From Purpose to Impact', by Nick Craig and Scott A. Snook; 'Creating Shared Value', by Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer; 'How to Lead in the Stakeholder Era', by Hubert Joly; and 'Use Storytelling to Explain Your Company's Purpose', by John Coleman.
HBR's 10 Must Reads are definitive collections of classic ideas, practical advice, and essential thinking from the pages of Harvard Business Review. Exploring topics like disruptive innovation, emotional intelligence, and new technology in our ever-evolving world, these books empower any leader to make bold decisions and inspire others.
]]>You can find HBR at: hbr.org
Twitter: @HarvardBiz
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/harvard-business-review
Facebook: @HBR
Instagram: @harvard_business_review
YouTube: youtube.com/user/harvardbusinessreview
Dave Whorton was John Doerr's associate partner at high-flying Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers during Silicon Valley's big shift, when he witnessed the VC industry pivot from a proven forty-year playbook of managing risk to something much more aggressive: 'get-big-fast'. Don't worry about profitability. Cash out and find another venture.
For a while, Whorton took part in this whirlwind as he pursued his dream of becoming the next Hewlett or Packard, starting two companies himself. But soon it all got to be too much. Whorton recognised that if get-big-fast was the formula for building a great technology company in the twenty-first century, that just wasn't for him.
That could have been the end of the story, but instead it turned out to be the beginning of another, deeply inspiring one. Whorton went on a journey to find a better way to build companies, a way focused on long-term stability and steady growth, funded through profitability; a way in which leaders were committed to a purpose beyond personal wealth generation, to putting their people first, and to setting up their companies to endure. He calls these companies 'Evergreen'. Another Way combines Whorton's inspiring story with his Evergreen 7Ps framework, designed to guide more entrepreneurs and business leaders to follow his path.
Full of revelations, practical advice, and real-world examples of companies going Evergreen, Another Way is as instructive as it is inspiring at showing capitalism at its best.
]]>While the term is most commonly identified with Jordan Peterson, Sam Harris, Ben Shapiro, Claire Lehmann, Douglas Murray, and Joe Rogan, the group's concerns extended more broadly to include a wide range of individuals, including Steven Pinker, Jonathan Haidt, and Elon Musk.
Although its coherence began to unravel in the early 2020s due to internal differences, such as over the response to COVID-19 and climate change, it played a determining role in changing the politico-cultural landscape, influencing both electorally successful right-wing platforms and playing a major role in the rise of an independent media ecosystem that is today in many ways more influential than mainstream media.
'A thorough, thoughtful and charitable overview of that ambiguous phenomenon known as 'The Intellectual Dark Web.' Jamie Roberts accessibly presents the political, philosophical, epistemological and ethical concerns that underlie the IDW. In doing so, he clarifies the objections of this ideologically diverse group to Critical Social Justice (wokeness). The Intellectual Dark Web will be of value both for those too entrenched in their corner of the Culture Wars to see the patterns within this unlikely collective, and for the more sensible people who would like a detailed overview without wading in too far.' Helen Pluckrose, author of The Counterweight Handbook
'What is the Intellectual Dark Web? Even though I am one of the early founding members I was not really sure what it was I belonged to beyond my own characterization of it as "a commitment to the search for truth and free speech as the royal road to it" until I read Jamie Roberts" fair and thoughtful analysis that covers all the major players and ideas associated with the IDW. A masterful work of cultural history in this unique moment.' Michael Shermer,publisherofSkeptic Magazine,author of Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational
]]>For centuries, medieval history books have told the stories of noble queens, dutiful housewives, and cloistered nuns but what about the single women who lived, worked, and thrived in medieval Europe? The Secret Lives of Single Medieval Women reveals the overlooked yet fascinating lives of middle age women who did not fit the conventional mold. From unmarried tradeswomen and widows to vowesses and nuns, these women carved their own paths in a world that often sought to define them by their marital status.
Single, independent, and often underestimated these women left their mark on history. While medieval and Middle Ages society dictated that a woman's worth was tied to marriage and family, countless single women built lives of resilience and ingenuity. Some ran successful businesses, others devoted themselves to education or faith, and many simply found ways to survive within a rigid social structure. This book sheds light on their stories, proving that history is far richer and more complex than the narratives we've been told.
Discover the vibrant and often surprising lives of single women in the Middle Ages. Whether running businesses, navigating religious life, or simply surviving societal expectations, these women played a crucial role in shaping medieval society. Rich with historical records, poetry, and legal documents, this medieval history book brings to light the personal stories of those often left out of traditional narratives.
Blending meticulous research with engaging storytelling, The Secret Lives of Single Medieval Women challenges outdated perceptions and brings history's forgotten women back to life.
]]>She has been a guest speaker on medieval feminine hygiene and The Very Secret Sex Lives Of Medieval Women at the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology, the Queensland Museum's After Dark Program for the British Museum's Medieval Power: Symbols and Splendor exhibition, the University of The Third Age's Winterschool Program, the University Pavilion at the Abbey Medieval Festival, and various women's social groups.
She works in medical imaging in a busy city hospital in Australia. Her hobbies include historical sewing, curating her collection of medieval artifacts, lying about being at work so she can stay home with her rescue kitty, and eating nachos not especially in that order.
]]>Huang Chin-tao was born in 1926, when Taiwan was still part of the Japanese Empire. By the time he died in 2019, Taiwan was a bustling, high-tech democracy and Huang had lived through every twist and turn along the way. He served as a Japanese soldier in China during World War II; joined an armed uprising against Taiwan's Chinese Nationalist post-war government; spent twenty-four years imprisoned during the island's decades of martial law; and finally emerged to help lead the pro-democracy movement of the 1980s in his hometown, Taichung.
Drawing upon archives, memoirs, interviews and more, Anna Beth Keim tells the story of Taiwan through the journey of one extraordinary individual. From his childhood scuffling with Japanese children to his transformation into a 'democracy farmer', Huang's life vividly reflects contemporary Taiwanese history, and continues to inspire young Taiwanese today who are fighting to keep their home independent.
Over roughly a century, the island transitioned from an imperial outpost to an authoritarian state to a democracy one still at risk of being snuffed out by China. This story is uniquely Taiwanese, yet illuminates experiences shared by countries everywhere: of colonisation and its aftermath, and the ongoing struggle to be free.
]]>Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard P. Feynman (1918-88) was that rarest of creatures a towering scientific genius who could make himself understood by anyone and who became as famous for the wit and wisdom of his popular lectures and writings as for his fundamental contributions to science. The Quotable Feynman is a treasure-trove of this revered and beloved scientist's most profound, provocative, humorous, and memorable quotations on a wide range of subjects.
Carefully selected by Richard Feynman's daughter, Michelle Feynman, from his spoken and written legacy, including interviews, lectures, letters, articles, and books, the quotations are arranged under two dozen topics from art, childhood, discovery, family, imagination, and humour to mathematics, politics, science, religion, and uncertainty. These brief passages about 500 in all vividly demonstrate Feynman's astonishing yet playful intelligence, and his almost constitutional inability to be anything other than unconventional, engaging, and inspiring. The result is a unique, illuminating, and enjoyable portrait of Feynman's life and thought that will be cherished by his fans at the same time that it provides an ideal introduction to Feynman for readers new to this intriguing and important thinker.
The book features a foreword in which physicist Brian Cox pays tribute to Feynman and describes how his words reveal his particular genius, a piece in which cellist Yo-Yo Ma shares his memories of Feynman and reflects on his enduring appeal, and a personal preface by Michelle Feynman. It also includes some previously unpublished quotations, a chronology of Richard Feynman's life, some twenty photos of Feynman, and a section of memorable quotations about Feynman from other notable figures.
Some notable quotations of Richard P. Feynman:
Michelle Feynman, the daughter of Richard P. Feynman, is the editor of Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman and The Art of Richard P. Feynman: Images by a Curious Character.
]]>The father of existentialism, Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a philosopher who could write like an angel. With only a sentence or two, he could plumb the depths of the human spirit. In this collection of some 800 quotations, the reader will find dazzling bon mots next to words of life-changing power. Drawing from the authoritative Princeton editions of Kierkegaard's writings, this book presents a broad selection of his wit and wisdom, as well as a stimulating introduction to his life and work.
Organised by topic, this volume covers notable Kierkegaardian concerns such as anxiety, despair, existence, irony, and the absurd, but also erotic love, the press, busyness, and the comic. Here readers will encounter both well-known quotations ('Life must be understood backward. But then one forgets the other principle, that it must be lived forward') and obscure ones ('Beware false prophets who come to you in wolves' clothing but inwardly are sheep i.e., the phrasemongers'). Those who spend time in these pages will discover the writer who said, 'my grief is my castle', but who also taught that 'the best defense against hypocrisy is love.'
Illuminating and delightful, this engaging book also provides a substantial portrait of one of the most influential of modern thinkers.
]]>Gordon Marino is professor of philosophy at St. Olaf College. His books include The Existentialist's Survival Guide and Kierkegaard in the Present Age.
]]>Niccol Machiavelli (1469-1527) is the father of modern political thought, but he is also one of the greatest writers of the Renaissance and his wisdom and style extend far beyond politics to encompass a compelling philosophy of life as well. In The Quotable Machiavelli, Maurizio Viroli, one of the world's leading Machiavelli scholars, offers a rich collection of the Florentine's most memorable words on a wide range of subjects, including politics, the human condition, religion, love and happiness, antiquity and history, patriotism, and virtue. Drawing on Machiavelli's entire body of writings, and including little-known quotations as well as famous passages, the book shows the full scope of his thought and belies the cliche that he was a 'Machiavellian' cynic.
In addition to Machiavelli's own words on dozens of subjects of perennial interest, the book includes some almost unknown texts in which his contemporaries describe him. Complete with a biographical introduction, the book serves as a handy reference and a smart and lively introduction to a masterly thinker and writer.
]]>Maurizio Viroli is professor emeritus of politics at Princeton University, professor of government at the University of Texas, Austin, and professor of political communication at the University of Italian Switzerland in Lugano. His many books include Niccol's Smile: A Biography of Machiavelli and How to Choose a Leader: Machiavelli's Advice to Citizens (Princeton).
]]>Far beyond a personal difficulty, loneliness has grown into a problem that plagues whole societies. Many countries, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, have gone as far to declare a loneliness epidemic. Loneliness can lead to depression and anxiety, and can even increase your chance of death by 26%. But what defines loneliness, and is it true that we are lonelier now than we have ever been?
As COVID-19 forced entire populations into isolation in 2020, author Hilde stby set out to investigate loneliness in all its forms. To frame this huge, multidisciplinary undertaking, she turned to the Moomin novels by revered Norwegian children's author Tove Jansson. Under the watchful eye of such Jansson creations as the tragically alienated Groke, this fascinating book recounts stby's own struggles with the condition and her many conversations with researchers, artists, and journalists who have looked closely at the myriad faces of loneliness and the ways it can be overcome.
Again and again, she returns to the nightmarish events of the 2011 Utya terrorist attacks, a collective trauma for Norwegian society that stby views as permeated with loneliness, in both its causes and effects. This is a deeply personal and yet universally relevant book about the costs to all when some are pushed out of society. But it is also a book about the incredible capabilities of human beings how resilient we are, and how we survive and find ourselves through our relationships with others.
'Loneliness is one of the most important and difficult topics of our time, and this book is a beautiful meditation on it, taking us from The Moomins to the far right. Inspiring and original.' Johann Hari, New York Times-bestselling author of Lost Connections and Stolen Focus
Praise for Hilde tsby:
'stby's thoroughly researched offering is a joy to read...Curiosity seekers will be enlightened.' Publishers Weekly on The Key to Creativity
'An accessible book, which makes it all the more joyful.' NYLON on Adventures in Memory
]]>All of us would like to live longer, or to slow the debilitating effects of age. In How We Age, Coleen Murphy shows how recent research on longevity and aging may be bringing us closer to this goal. Murphy, a leading scholar of aging, explains that the study of model systems, particularly simple invertebrate animals, combined with breakthroughs in genomic methods, have allowed scientists to probe the molecular mechanisms of longevity and aging. Understanding the fundamental biological rules that govern aging in model systems provides clues about how we might slow human aging, which could lead in turn to new therapeutics and treatments for age-related disease.
Among other vivid examples, Murphy describes research that shows how changing a single gene in the nematode worm C. elegans doubles its lifespan, extending not only the end of life but also the youthful, healthy part of life. Drawing on work in her own lab as well as other recent research, Murphy chronicles the history and current state of the field, explaining longevity's links to reproduction and mating, sensory and cognitive function, inheritances from our ancestors, and the gut microbiome. Written with clarity and wit, How We Age provides a guide to the science: what we know about aging, how we know what we know, and what we can do with this new knowledge.
]]>Are mass violence and catastrophes the only forces that can seriously decrease economic inequality? To judge by thousands of years of history, the answer is yes. Tracing the global history of inequality from the Stone Age to today, Walter Scheidel shows that inequality never dies peacefully. Inequality declines when carnage and disaster strike and increases when peace and stability return. The Great Leveler is the first book to chart the crucial role of violent shocks in reducing inequality over the full sweep of human history around the world.
Ever since humans began to farm, herd livestock, and pass on their assets to future generations, economic inequality has been a defining feature of civilisation. Over thousands of years, only violent events have significantly lessened inequality. The 'Four Horsemen' of leveling mass-mobilisation warfare, transformative revolutions, state collapse, and catastrophic plagues have repeatedly destroyed the fortunes of the rich. Scheidel identifies and examines these processes, from the crises of the earliest civilisations to the cataclysmic world wars and communist revolutions of the twentieth century. Today, the violence that reduced inequality in the past seems to have diminished, and that is a good thing. But it casts serious doubt on the prospects for a more equal future.
An essential contribution to the debate about inequality, The Great Leveler provides important new insights about why inequality is so persistent and why it is unlikely to decline anytime soon.
]]>If we start with the presumption that evolution is a constantly improving process, some aspects of our evolution just do not make sense. We have a high rate of genetic diseases, for example, and much of our DNA seems to be pointless. In The Evolution of Imperfection, Laurence Hurst explores our apparently rotten genetic luck.
Hurst, a leading authority on evolution and genetics, argues that our evolutionary imperfections proceed directly from two features: the difficulties of pregnancy and the fact that historically there are relatively few of us. In pregnancy, natural selection can favor chromosomes that kill embryos in species (including ours) that continuously receive resources from the mother. Most fertilised eggs don't make it, and incompatibilities between the fetus and mother can lead to lethal disorders of pregnancy. The historically small population size enhances the role of chance, which in turn leads to both accumulation of unnecessary DNA and more mutation.
So what can save us? One answer may lie in genetic medicine, which has given us therapies that make killer conditions preventable and even curable.
Hurst suggests that our seeming imperfections could be the key to a new way to understand evolution itself. Looking at circumstances that seem to defy explanation, we might come to a richer understanding of how evolution really works, and what it means to be human.
]]>Cracking the Crab tells the extraordinary full story of Russian intrigue targeting Japan, from first encounters in the eighteenth century to the Soviet declaration of war in August 1945. Colourful episodes include Gojong, King of Korea, being smuggled into the Russian legation dressed as a woman in 1896; the 1927 'Tanaka Memorial', an infamous forgery purporting to be Japan's hidden plan for world domination; and the secret intelligence of 'Nero', a Soviet agent supplying invaluable insight into Japanese strategy during the Second World War.
From Russians murdered in broad daylight in Meiji Tokyo to Soviet honey traps and 'white magic' at the Battle of Nomonhan, this is a landmark history of the covert struggle between two great powers of the modern age.
]]>An introductory chapter by a Kew expert provides an overview of this plant group, and extended captions accompany each painting. Each book in the Kew Pocketbooks series shares 40 botanical paintings from Kew's extensive Library and Archives collection, illustrating the variety within each group, as well as the diversity of the collection and artistic styles.
The luxury finish on these books makes them a must-have gift item, printed on uncoated paper and with a cloth and foil finish.
]]>Nutritious, versatile, and bursting with flavour, tomatoes are a perennial favorite of both home gardeners and market farmers.
Beautifully illustrated and highly accessible, this succinct guide from renowned market gardener Jean-Martin Fortier brings you his pro tips and tricks, ensuring a plentiful and profitable tomato harvest. Coverage includes:
Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener is a collection of practical handbooks designed to provide everyone from novice gardeners to seasoned farmers with information to grow better, using Jean-Martin Fortier's principles of biointensive, regenerative agriculture at a human scale.
]]>In 2015, Jean-Martin established La Ferme des Quatre-Temps, a research farm dedicated to training apprentices and developing new strategies for market gardening, including year-round production. His pioneering methods are taught worldwide through the Market Gardener Institute, which is present in more than 90 countries.
Jean-Martin is the author of The Winter Market Gardener and The Market Gardener, which have sold over a quarter of a million copies in nine languages. His contributions to organic farming and regenerative agriculture have earned him the Meritorious Service Cross from the Governor General of Canada. He farms and lives in Quebec, Canada.
Pierre Nessmann was born to a family of Strasbourg market gardeners and holds a degree from the cole d'Horticulture de Geneve, in Switzerland. He has worked as a landscape gardener and a journalist for over 40 years. He is the assistant editor of the popular French gardening magazines Rustica Pratique and Rustica Weekly, covers gardening and DIY stories for the French television Network TF1, and currently hosts a gardening segment on the show Nous Voil Bien, on the French radio station RTL. He is the author of several books about vegetable growing, gardening, and landscaping. Pierre lives in Paris, France.
Flore Avram is a freelance artist and graphic designer specialising in scientific and botanical illustration. She has collaborated extensively with the French language children's publisher KiloWatt Editions, and with Inserm Magazine, a quarterly journal which explores health and biomedical research. Flore has earned several professional certifications in graphic design and scientific illustration from L'Ecole Estienne, the Municipal Graduate School of the Arts and Printing Industry. She also works as a Mediatrice en botanique at Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil, a unique French natural heritage site and eco-garden. She is based in Paris, France.
]]>Often overlooked by both home and market gardeners, the right farm and garden tools are essential for cultivating success. Vegetable Garden Tools: A Grower's Guide will help you select the appropriate equipment for your unique situation, drawing on 'The Market Gardener Method'. This method, developed by Jean-Martin Fortier, is a proven formula for successful, small-scale, high-yield microfarming.
This highly accessible, succinct, and beautifully illustrated full-colour handbook features:
Vegetable Garden Tools: A Grower's Guide is a keystone title in the Grower's Guides from the Market Gardener series. This curated collection of practical handbooks is designed to provide everyone from novice gardeners to seasoned horticulturalists and farmers with the information they need to grow better using Jean-Martin Fortier's principles of biointensive, regenerative agriculture at a human scale.
]]>In 2015, Jean-Martin established La Ferme des Quatre-Temps, a research farm dedicated to training apprentices and developing new strategies for market gardening, including year-round production. His pioneering methods are taught worldwide through the Market Gardener Institute, which is present in more than 90 countries.
Jean-Martin is the author of The Winter Market Gardener and The Market Gardener, which have sold over a quarter of a million copies in nine languages. His contributions to organic farming and regenerative agriculture have earned him the Meritorious Service Cross from the Governor General of Canada. He farms and lives in Quebec, Canada.
Pierre Nessmann was born to a family of Strasbourg market gardeners and holds a degree from the cole d'Horticulture de Geneve, in Switzerland. He has worked as a landscape gardener and a journalist for over 40 years. He is the assistant editor of the popular French gardening magazines Rustica Pratique and Rustica Weekly, covers gardening and DIY stories for the French television Network TF1, and currently hosts a gardening segment on the show Nous Voil Bien, on the French radio station RTL. He is the author of several books about vegetable growing, gardening, and landscaping. Pierre lives in Paris, France.
Flore Avram is a freelance artist and graphic designer specialising in scientific and botanical illustration. She has collaborated extensively with the French language children's publisher KiloWatt Editions, and with Inserm Magazine, a quarterly journal which explores health and biomedical research. Flore has earned several professional certifications in graphic design and scientific illustration from L'Ecole Estienne, the Municipal Graduate School of the Arts and Printing Industry. She also works as a Mediatrice en botanique at Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil, a unique French natural heritage site and eco-garden. She is based in Paris, France.
]]>Designed for artists who are starting out on their drawing journey or those who just need a quick refresher on the basics, this handy and ultra-portable reference guide helps you create beautiful artwork using all the techniques of crosshatching.
Noted art instructor Giovana Vescovi, author of The Pen and Ink Drawing Guide, demystifies crosshatching and distills her years of knowledge into this handy guide for all aspiring or expert artists.
]]>This all-in-one guide takes you inside the artist's studio to learn first-hand how to conceptualise and draw new fantasy sci-fi vehicles. This book gives fantasy illustrators detailed information on the following topics:
Illustrated with over 450 drawings and examples, this book is the perfect springboard to creating your own mind-blowing mecha vehicles. Your imagination will soar as these fantastic machines come to life!
]]>Shin Yoshimura graduated from the University of Tokyo with a major in green space studies and worked in urban planning and landscape architecture planning and design at EPI Corporation. After that, he established MEGADRAWING, an art studio which creates illustrations and perspective drawings. As an architect, he received the Jury's Award for the 30th anniversary of the JARA Grand Prize in 2010.
]]>From the depths of the sea to geopolitical tensions in strategic maritime locations, Henriksen addresses the complexities of our relationship with the ocean. emphasizing the need for a holistic understanding to tackle the intricate interplay of environmental, economic, and geopolitical factors.
]]>Taking readers from the deep geologic past to our current era of human dominance, Stephen Porder focuses on five of life's essential elements hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. He describes how single-celled cyanobacteria and plants harnessed them to wildly proliferate across the oceans and the land, only to eventually precipitate environmental catastrophes. He then brings us to the present, and shows how these elements underpin the success of human civilisation, and how their mismanagement threatens similarly catastrophic unintended consequences. But, Porder argues, if we can learn from our world-changing predecessors, we can construct a more sustainable future.
Blending conversational storytelling with the latest science, Porder takes us deep into the Amazon, across fresh lava flows in Hawaii, and to the cornfields of the American Midwest to illuminate a potential path to sustainability, informed by the constraints imposed by life's essential elements and the four-billion-year history of life on Earth.
'Brown University ecologist Porder debuts with a probing exploration of how carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorous have shaped life on Earth...It's an illuminating account of how these elements and the organisms that rely on them have influenced the course of life.' Publishers Weekly
'[Porder] takes the time to explain considerable data to skeptics...And this scientific information is made even more accessible because of Porder's engaging storytelling and views of different milieus like farms to illustrate what more sustainable alternatives could look like.' Joseph S. Pete, Foreword Reviews
]]>One of the earliest known Scottish queens was none other than the notorious Lady MacBeth. Was she really the wicked woman depicted in Shakespeare's famous play? Was St Margaret a demure and obedient wife? Why did Margaret Logie exercise such an influence over her husband, David II, and have we underestimated James VI's consort, Anne of Denmark, frequently written off as a stupid and wilful woman? These are just a few of the questions addressed by Dr Marshall in her entertaining, impeccably researched book.
]]>This rich and vivid history tells the story of an instrument boasting over 130 varieties, yet commonly associated with just one form and one country: Scotland, and its familiar Great Highland Bagpipe. In fact, the pipes are played across the globe, and their story is a highly diverse one, which illuminates society in remarkable, unexpected ways. Richard McLauchlan charts the rise of women pipers; investigates how class, privilege and capitalism have shaped the world of piping; and explores how the meaning of a 'national instrument' can shift with the currents of a people's identity.
The vibrancy and inventiveness characterising today's pipers still speak to the potency of this fabled and once feared instrument, to which McLauchlan is our surefooted guide.
'Historically insightful and full of character. Captures the essence and beauty of piping's vibrant culture with historical, musical and characterful insight.' Finlay MacDonald
'Richly entertaining and perceptive. A revelation in how an instrument can transform culture.' Alastair Campbell
]]>'The Enneagram of the Soul invites us on a journey of profound self-discovery.' from the foreword by Russ Hudson, bestselling coauthor of The Wisdom of the Enneagram
The Enneagram of the Soul is inspired by over two decades of inner and outer work with the Enneagram by leading expert Nhien Vuong. Nhien provides a path to wholeness for the self, enabling the reader to be steered gently yet firmly away from the trap of solely identifying with their personality type, so they can live more fully from their divine nature.
This book is divided into two parts. Part 1 shares nine Enneagram-informed principles that guide one's journey of transformation using the Enneagram, nine contemplative practices to propel and support the transformational process, and nine prayers to lend heart to the journey. Part 2 offers forty activations, which consist of very brief questions, reminders, or practices on forty different themes customised for each of the nine Enneagram personality types. When we begin to access the wholeness of all nine Enneagram energies working in concert, we experience a greater sense of inner peace, purpose, and fulfillment.
'An important and uniquely useful contribution to the Enneagram literature in that she provides a pathway for the types, built around practices and principles.' Beatrice Chestnut, author of The Enneagram Guide to Waking Up
]]>The surreal design invites profound connections with manifestation work, making each session transformative. These codes offer not just affirmations but also cosmic insights, unlocking subconscious barriers to wealth. Use them daily for guidance, affirmation, and inspiration in morning rituals, meditations, or manifestation practices. They encourage a shift from scarcity to abundance, empowering co-creative action. This deck serves as a unique bridge between worlds, inviting exploration of personal wealth potential and the universe's generosity. It beckons a life of wealth, guided by the wisdom of Artemis and Arrow, shaping a world where abundance is natural for all.
]]>Stephanie Wicker-Campbell is an intuitive illustrator driven by the essence of the soul, unraveling the enchantment within the ordinary. Born in the United States but residing in Sydney, Stephanie's passion for travel and adventure is just one of the many aspects from which she draws her artistic inspiration. Channeling a diverse array of palettes, her work covers a broad spectrum, making her a sought-after partner for published projects. Her spellbinding designs grace oracle decks, journals, and book covers, resonating with audiences worldwide.
]]>The Cosmic Wealth Codes Journal serves as a vessel for your cosmic evolution, leading you toward a reality where wealth isn't just a distant dream but your easily accessible divine birthright. Crafted through collaboration between the author and spiritual entities Artemis and Arrow, this journal delves deep into the core of the channeled wealth codes within the Cosmic Wealth Codes Affirmation Deck. It acts as a guide, helping you unearth the hidden treasures of abundance nestled within your consciousness.
Within its pages, you'll find a treasure trove of tools and insights designed to activate and amplify the wealth frequencies lying dormant within you. Reflective prompts, activating affirmations, card spreads tailored for abundance, and captivating otherworldly art come together to create a transformative experience. Each page invites you to embark on a journey of self-discovery and transformation, exploring the boundless potential of your cosmic being. Through introspective inquiries and soulful contemplation, you'll delve into the depths of your subconscious, shedding limiting beliefs and aligning with the abundant flow of the universe.
Whether incorporated into your daily rituals, utilised during moments of reflection, or integrated into your manifestation practices, this journal serves as a steadfast companion on your path to prosperity. By learning to speak the language of the cosmos and aligning with its abundance, you'll begin to cocreate with the universe the wealth you desire. The Cosmic Wealth Codes Journal offers a sacred space for you to cultivate a deeper connection with abundance, empowering you to step into your divine birthright and manifest a reality filled with prosperity and fulfillment.
]]>Stephanie Wicker-Campbell is an intuitive illustrator driven by the essence of the soul, unraveling the enchantment within the ordinary. Born in the United States but residing in Sydney, Stephanie's passion for travel and adventure is just one of the many aspects from which she draws her artistic inspiration. Channeling a diverse array of palettes, her work covers a broad spectrum, making her a sought-after partner for published projects. Her spellbinding designs grace oracle decks, journals, and book covers, resonating with audiences worldwide.
]]>This card deck will help users develop resilience and awareness that allows them to manage discomfort even on the most difficult days. Plus, it can go anywhere and be used at any time: in the morning, in the evening before bed, during the workday, or whenever you need some relief. Users will select three to four cards a day, which focus on different areas of the body, and by adopting this practice and sticking with it, they may begin to live with less pain, enjoy their favourite activities, and become more present in their lives. The deck will consist of 55 cards divided into seven colour-coded categories: green for extension, yellow for flexion, purple for side-bending, orange for rotation and full body, gray for awareness practice, pink for extremity work, and blue for the wild cards.
]]>This cookbook is a love story between Paulie, Mary Ann, and pizza. In 2010, at the age of 56, Paulie left a career in corporate IT to turn his backyard culinary pursuit into his retirement plan. Now that passion is Paulie Gee's a thriving pizzeria business with restaurants and slice shops in cities all over the US. In this highly anticipated first cookbook,Paulieand Mary Ann share their secrets not only for making their inventive, addictive pies at home, but also the lessons they've learned during their 45-year marriage and 15-year restaurant partnership. (In both food and love, watch the salt.) This book featuresover 100 recipes for their insanely popular pizzas like the Hellboy (asoppressata pie topped with hot honey), the Mo Cheeks (a tomato and pecorino pie with guanciale), and the In Ricotta da Vegan (a ricotta pie made with vegan sausage and cheese). There are also family recipes from their home kitchen (including their famous vegetarian French onion soup and Paulie's signature Penne a la Jack Daniels), and a selection of drinks (includingthe restaurant's famous limoncello) and desserts. Also included are recipes featuring collaborations with some of New York's other beloved institutions, such as the Brisket-Five-O, a pizza collaboration with a local BBQ spot. The pizza recipes include instructions for cooking in a conventional home oven as well as a wood-fired pizza oven.
Level up your pizza night with this debut book from Brooklyn's famous Paulie Gee's, featuring over 100 recipes that bring their innovative combinations and time-tested techniques to home kitchens everywhere. More than just a pizza cookbook, this collection weaves together their 45-year love story with hard-won restaurant wisdom, featuring both beloved menu items from Paulie Gee's and cherished family recipes that showcase the couple's culinary journey from backyard experimenters to celebrated restaurateurs.
]]>The author of the popular A Tea Witch's Grimoire takes tea magick to a new level as she brings you into the enchanting realm where the art of tea-making intertwines with the power of crystal grids, creating a harmonious fusion of energies that will elevate your magickal practice.
Tea magick has a profound connection to nature, mindfulness, and spiritual transformation. Here you'll learn how to select and prepare teas that align with your intentions, harnessing their unique properties to enhance your rituals and meditations. But the enchantment doesn't stop there. A Tea Witch's Crystal Brews unveils the captivating realm of crystal grids, where carefully selected gemstones are arranged in geometric patterns to amplify intention and manifest desires. Explore the world of crystals and unlock their hidden powers as you discover the intricate interplay between crystals and tea magick. Along with rituals and recipes in this book, you'll unravel the secrets of combining these two ancient practices, creating a synergy that enhances your spiritual journey. As you explore the symbiotic relationship between specific teas and corresponding crystals, you'll gain insight into the sacred geometry behind crystal grids and learn how to design your own layouts that align with your intentions.
A Tea Witch's Crystal Brews offers step-by-step instructions, enchanting rituals, recipes, meditations, and practical tips that allow you to infuse your daily life with the transformative energies of tea magick and crystal grids.
]]>A gripping account that overturns simplistic portrayals of Iran as a theocratic pariah state, revealing how its strategic moves on the world stage are driven by two pervasive threats external aggression and internal dissolution
Iran presents one of the most significant foreign policy challenges for America and the West, yet very little is known about what the country's goals really are. Vali Nasr examines Iran's political history in new ways to explain its actions and ambitions on the world stage, showing how, behind the veneer of theocracy and Islamic ideology, today's Iran is pursuing a grand strategy aimed at securing the country internally and asserting its place in the region and the world.
Drawing on memoirs, oral histories, and original in-depth interviews with Iranian decision makers, Nasr brings to light facts and events in Iran's political history that have been overlooked until now. He traces the roots of Iran's strategic outlook to its experiences over the past four decades of war with Iraq in the 1980s and the subsequent American containment of Iran, invasion of Iraq in 2003, and posture toward Iran thereafter. Nasr reveals how these experiences have shaped a geopolitical outlook driven by pervasive fear of America and its plans for the Middle East.
Challenging the notion that Iran's foreign policy simply reflects its revolutionary values or theocratic government, Iran's Grand Strategy provides invaluable new insights into what Iran wants and why, explaining the country's resistance to the United States, its nuclear ambitions, and its pursuit of influence and proxies across the Middle East.
]]>The Difference reveals that progress and innovation may depend less on lone thinkers with enormous IQs than on diverse people working together and capitalising on their individuality. Page shows how groups that display a range of perspectives outperform groups of like-minded experts. Diversity yields superior outcomes, and Page proves it using his own cutting-edge research. Moving beyond the politics that cloud standard debates about diversity, he explains why difference beats out homogeneity, whether you're talking about citizens in a democracy or scientists in the laboratory. He examines practical ways to apply diversity's logic to a host of problems, and along the way offers fascinating and surprising examples, from the redesign of the Chicago 'El' to the truth about where we store our ketchup.
Page changes the way we understand diversity how to harness its untapped potential, how to understand and avoid its traps, and how we can leverage our differences for the benefit of all.
]]>Christina Harrison's introductory chapter on the history of tree collecting and introduction highlights their importance, from their practical applications to the sheer wonder of their beauty. Some trees featured were planted in the 18th century, with many now rare in the wild.
Each tree is accompanied by the artist's commentary on her personal experience with it and writing by Martyn Rix describing natural distribution and cultivation history, and points of interest including uses and associated wildlife.
]]>Martyn Rix is a renowned horticulturalist, author and editor of Curtis's Botanical Magazine.
]]>'Peter Szendy offers a subtle, persuasive, and unprecedented account of the time of reading and its scene of address, one that is as archaic as it is contemporary. When we read, are we listening to a voice or being read to? If it is not a private and monologic exercise, how do we understand the populated scene of reading? What reads when we read, and how does reading push and pull between temporalities and voices? Why do we keep leaving the text when we seek to obey the injunction to stay within its terms?
Questions such as these produce a fresh, even startling, consideration of a wide range of literary and popular texts, including Hobbes' Leviathan, Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Kant's moral injunctions, Sade, Valery, Blanchot, and de Certeau, but also modern fiction, film, audiobooks, and hypertext. The power of reading turns out to belong to its surprising engagement with time and direction: the deliberate reader stays close but strays, tries to fill in the gaps but gets pushed back by a countercurrent. The key to the text is sought 'outside' only to be led back to the text and its failure to deliver a final answer. Equally at odds with older versions of literary formalism that insist on the self-referentiality of the text as well as contextualists who scour an external social order to discover the truth of the text, Szendy approaches that very conflict as an oscillation constitutive of reading itself. Paradoxically, reading is sustained precisely by what interrupts its teleological flow.
The result is a comic, profound, and timely reconceptualisation of reading which rushes forward only to find itself pushed back into the heart of the text, which discovers that this incessant breaking from the text, this headlong rushing ahead to the world outside the text is a sequence of overreach, delay, and return that forms the ragged rhythm of reading itself. Powers of Reading is a patient, brilliant, and illuminating inquiry into the crosscurrents of voice and address, one that speaks to the speed and complexity of our time, how we are upended by our forward propulsions, to consider how multiple voice, action, and passivity are all rearranged in the scene of reading.' Judith Butler, Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley
]]>Everything you need to successfully make magic with your tarot deck is found here within Everyday Tarot Magic.
This book was previously published in 2003.
'Dorothy Morrison, Wiccan High Priestess, bestselling author of Everyday Magic, applies her craft to the Tarot deck in Everyday Tarot Magic. Building on the popularity of Tarot, Morrison shows readers how to get started with Tarot, how to find the right deck, and how to understand the various cards and where they fit into the system. The second half of the book explores 'Tarot magic,' helping readers use the cards to deal with specific situations such as anxiety, forgiveness, healing, new endeavors, travel, and unwanted guests. There's even a special charm for finding a parking place. Morrison cautions that people are often searching for 'the best case scenario' when reading their own cards, and that it's more accurate to have an objective outsider interpret the cards for them.' Publishers Weekly
]]>Once upon a time, minister, lecturer, and astronomer Rev. Timothy Harley published Moon Lore, a culmination of his understanding of the moon and its many myths. Now lovingly updated and reproduced for a modern audience, this book is the perfect reference for everything about lunar folklore. Contained within are different concepts about the moon that span time, religion, and nationality, covering many different interpretations of the moon's entities and inhabitants. A charming addition to any library, The Old Lore of the Moon stands out among older books as a highly readable, informative, and entertaining entry.
]]>This first official book for Adult Fans of LEGO takes the reader on a visually stunning journey from the very earliest hollow bricks to the complex shapes and building techniques of today.
LEGO bricks are design icons and marvels of engineering. Virtually unchanged for over fifty years, the brick is still at the very centre of LEGO's ethos: each brick connects to every other brick, allowing the construction of almost anything you can imagine. LEGO minifigures may be the friendly faces of the LEGO world, but bricks in all their different shapes and forms are its very foundation.
The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks explores the brick's rich history in full colour and unparalleled detail. Granted unprecedented access by the LEGO Group, Daniel Konstantski has interviewed design masters, element testers and the so-called 'rock stars', the set designers, to reveal for the first time how and why new LEGO bricks are made.
This is the book the fans have always wanted: a truly behind-the-scenes look at the story of the beloved LEGO brick and the company which makes it, with a wealth of exclusive visual material from the LEGO Archive in Billund.
]]>Leaving no headstone unturned, Sacha Coward will take you on a wild ride through the night from ancient Greece to the main stage of RuPaul's Drag Race, visiting cross-dressing pirates, radical fairies and the graves of the 'queerly departed' along the way. Queer communities have often sought refuge in the shadows, found kinship in the in-between and created safe spaces in underworlds; but these forgotten narratives tell stories of remarkable resilience that deserve to be heard.
Join any Pride march and you are likely to see a glorious display of papier-mche unicorn heads trailing sequins, drag queens wearing mermaid tails and more fairy wings than you can shake a trident at. But these are not just accessories: they are queer symbols with historic roots.
To truly understand who queer people are today, we must confront the twisted tales of the past and Queer as Folklore is a celebration of queer history like you've never seen it before.
'One delight after another. Told with an open heart, a questing curiosity, and a healthy sense of mischief, Queer as Folklore is essential for every seeker of hidden histories.' Patrick Ness, author of the Chaos Walking series
]]>This literary inspired cookbook is composed of thirteen divinely delicious chapters, each focusing on a different story and discussing its edible motifs before bringing them to life and to your table with approachable, easy-to-follow recipes and hand-drawn illustrations.
Inspired by Alessandra Pino's academic studies into how food manifests itself on the pages of Gothic literature, and combining her knife-sharp analysis with Ella Buchan's experience as a food writer and recipe developer, A Gothic Cookbook pays homage to the most appetising cuts of the genre, featuring over sixty original recipes illustrated by Lee Henry.
Dracula lulls protagonist Jonathan Harker into a false sense of security with cold cuts and a spicy, smoky, peppery stew. Frankenstein's 'monster' starts out as a benign vegetarian, while Mrs Poole's overindulgence in Mother's Ruin triggers Mr Rochester's downfall in Jane Eyre and a bitter tangerine signals a sharp, yet unheeded, warning against marriage and Manderley in Rebecca. Notice, too, how a ghostly presence craves sugar and burnt bread in Toni Morrison's Beloved...
In this interplay between supper and the supernatural, you'll learn to pick your desserts carefully: chocolate mousses foreshadow impending doom, yet the humble seed cake is a gesture of kindness.
With a foreword from acclaimed writer, editor and academic, Leone Ross, A Gothic Cookbook is the perfect culinary companion for those of you who enjoy a slice of the macabre with your dinner.
]]>Dr Alessandra Pino is an expert on how the Gothic, food and cultural memory intersect. Alessandra was born in Hampstead, London, to an Italian mother and Venezuelan diplomat father, and grew up in several different countries. She holds university degrees in English Literature from Naples 'L'Orientale', Translation Studies from the University of Westminster and a PhD in Food, Cultural Memory and the Gothic. She worked with a Michelin-starred chef for nearly ten years before entering the world of academia. Alessandra brings to A Gothic Cookbook her deep academic knowledge, digging into food themes and motifs in a series of classic and contemporary novels from the 19th century to the present day.
Freelance graphic designer and artist Lee Henry creates the hand-drawn illustrations that bring the cookbook's themes and recipes to life in a suitably dark and enigmatic style. Specialising in branding for the hospitality industry and with clients ranging from Borough Market traders to gastro-pubs, he combines a passion for food with some pretty impressive draughtsmanship.
Leone Ross is a fiction writer and editor. She was born in England and grew up in Jamaica. Her latest novel is the New York Times' Editor's Choice This One Sky Day (FSG, 2021). Described by the Times Literary Supplement as 'a master of detail', her fiction has been nominated for the Women's Prize, the Goldsmiths award, the RSL Ondjaate award, and the Edge Hill Prize, among others. Her short stories, Come Let Us Sing Anyway are published by Peepal Tree.
]]>After his death in 2001, Douglas Adams's papers were loaned to his old Cambridge college, St John's. Reproduced here, in facsimile form and in close association with Adams's family and literary estate, 42 is a full-colour, large-format hardback that follows Adams career from early collaborations with Graham Chapman to his work on Doctor Who, through the Hitchhiker years*, Dirk Gently*, his groundbreaking non-fiction book Last Chance to See and his later digital work. Alongside this are details of projects that never came to fruition like a proposed theme park ride and a TV series provisionally entitled The Secret Empire.
Edited by Kevin Jon Davies, who has worked on a number of Hitchhiker-related projects and had a personal friendship with Adams spanning more than twenty years.
]]>Before Edward Powys Mathers wrote the world's most fiendishly difficult literary puzzle, he was a cryptic crossword creator. Under his pseudonym 'Torquemada', his puzzles would taunt readers for days. He created his first cryptic crossword puzzle in 1924 and went on to set them for the Saturday Westminster and the Observer for the next 15 years. His true identity was only revealed when he died in 1939.
As well as earning the reputation for setting the world's toughest crosswords, Torquemada - or 'Torq' as he was often referred to - was also delightfully creative: with many puzzles written in perfectly constructed verse, or delivered as mini-narratives to their solvers. There's even a version where the clues are knock-knock jokes.
For many years cryptic crosswords were simply known as puzzles in the 'Torquemada style'. This selection of Torquemada's best crosswords was originally published in 1942 and contains three short accounts of Torquemada's life and achievements, including one by his widow, R.C. Mathers. The successful revival of Cain's Jawbone has inspired a new generation of puzzle solvers. Here then is the next challenge for Torquemada's fans - dare you take it on?
]]>Ever wanted to cry out, 'What on Earth is a black hole?' but been afraid you'd be shouting into the abyss? Ever wanted to find out how gravity works but never found the book to pull you in?
DARK is an easily digestible beginner's guide to the Universe in a handy A to Z format, with entries on everything from Dark Matter and Quantum Physics to NASA and the Zoo Hypothesis.
Includes a number of stunning design elements throughout, including original artworks and bespoke lettering to accompany each of the twenty-six chapters, as well as enlightening and amusing quotes about space rendered in exquisite typography.
]]>Stefan Stern draws on the major themes of Macbeth and discusses how they can be applied to ambition in modern life. From the success of the first US woman vice president, Kamala Harris, the obstacles she faced and the possibilities that still lie ahead, to Boris Johnson's young aspirations to be 'world king' and the pathological intensity of his ambition, Stern considers the careers and personal lives of politicians, sports stars and business people, to name a few, to illuminate this strange and powerful driver. Expect to discover how ambition and success work together, how attitudes have shifted over time, and how gender roles have an impact on our goals.
Incisive, contemporary and accessible, this book is for anyone who is looking for a change of direction or emphasis on how to move forward. It will also provide consolation, amusement and plenty of insightful meditations on the complex nature of ambition.
]]>His first two books were Myths of Management: What people get wrong about being the boss (Kogan Page, 2017, with Cary Cooper), and How to be a better leader (Bluebird, Pan Macmillan 2019). He is a Visiting Professor at Bayes Business School, City, University of London, and a Fellow of the RSA.
]]>How did asexual identity form? What is aromanticism? How does agender identity function? Researcher and writer Michael Paramo explores these misunderstood experiences, from the complex challenge of coming out to navigating the western lens of attraction. Expertly mapping their history, Paramo traces the emergence of vital online communities to the origins of the Victorian binaries that still restrict us today.
Powerfully persuasive and thought-provoking, Ending the Pursuit asks us to reimagine sexuality, romance and gender without the borders imposed by society.
With a groundbreaking blend of memoir and poetry, online articles and discussions, Ending the Pursuit is a much-needed addition to the cultural conversation. It encourages us to end the search for 'normalcy' and gives voice to an often-misunderstood community.
]]>This is the never-before-told story of George Orwell's first wife, Eileen, a woman who shaped, supported, and even saved the life of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers.
In 1934, Eileen O'Shaughnessy's futuristic poem, 'End of the Century, 1984', was published. The next year, she would meet George Orwell, then known as Eric Blair, at a party. 'Now that is the kind of girl I would like to marry!' he remarked that night. Years later, Orwell would name his greatest work, Nineteen Eighty-Four, in homage to the memory of Eileen, the woman who shaped his life and his art in ways that have never been acknowledged by history, until now.
From the time they spent in a tiny village tending goats and chickens, through the Spanish Civil War, to the couple's narrow escape from the destruction of their London flat during a German bombing raid, and their adoption of a baby boy, Eileen is the first account of the Blairs' nine-year marriage. It is also a vivid picture of bohemianism, political engagement, and sexual freedom in the 1930s and '40s.
Through impressive depth of research, illustrated throughout with photos and images from the time, this captivating and inspiring biography offers a completely new perspective on Orwell himself, and most importantly tells the life story of an exceptional woman who has been unjustly overlooked.
]]>Online romance fraud is a problem across the globe. It causes financial and emotional devastation, yet many people refuse to take it seriously. This is the story of one middle-aged woman in a cardigan determined to understand this growing phenomenon.
No other woman has had so many online romances from Keanu Reeves to Brad Pitt to Prince William and Becky Holmes is a favourite among peacekeeping soldiers and oil rig workers who desperately need iTunes vouchers. By winding up scammers and investigating the truth behind their profiles, Becky shines a revealing, revolting and hilarious light on a very shady corner of the internet.
Featuring first-hand accounts of victims, examples of scripts used by fraudsters, a look into the psychology of fraud and of course plenty of Becky's hysterical interactions with scammers, this is a must-read for anyone who needs a reminder that Keanu Reeves is NOT in love with them.
'Clever, pertinent and very, very funny...Striking journalism.' -Danny Finkelstein
'A funny, sweary, absurd delight that knows just when to take the subject seriously too. I loved it.' - Dave Gorman
'A brilliant read. Moves effortlessly between hilarious and informative and back again.' - Ed Byrne
No One Talks About This Stuff is a support group for almost-parents: it is a place to share journeys of loss and limbo, to confront social pressure and to find courage in the darkness of tragedies which happen every day yet are brushed under the carpet.
So, we hear from a stepmother who wrestles with infertility. A husband and wife each tell their experience of losing their baby. A lesbian comes of age at a time when gay people rarely become parents. A father finds loss to be his unlikely superpower. Complex post-traumatic stress disorder impacts a person's choices about having a family. A black woman unpacks ancestral shame while finding renewed purpose. And each person shares how they lived through it.
This captivatingly beautiful, profound and honest anthology opens a much-needed conversation about society, family and honouring the missing children we will never forget.
]]>This was the great rallying cry of the pioneers who, in 1919, created the Women's Engineering Society. Spearheaded by Katharine and Rachel Parsons, a powerful mother and daughter duo, and Caroline Haslett, whose mission was to liberate women from domestic drudgery, it was the world's first professional organisation dedicated to the campaign for women's rights.
Magnificent Women and their Revolutionary Machines tells the stories of the women at the heart of this group - from their success in fanning the flames of a social revolution to their significant achievements in engineering and technology. It centres on the parallel but contrasting lives of the two main protagonists, Rachel Parsons and Caroline Haslett - one born to privilege and riches whose life ended in dramatic tragedy; the other who rose from humble roots to become the leading professional woman of her age and mistress of the thrilling new power of the twentieth century: electricity.
In this fascinating book, acclaimed biographer Henrietta Heald also illuminates the era in which the society was founded. From the moment when women in Britain were allowed to vote for the first time, and to stand for Parliament, she charts the changing attitudes to women's rights both in society and in the workplace.
]]>'Bboy' means 'boy' in a very particular form of internet cat-speak. You can pronounce it 'boy', 'buh-boy' or 'bee-boy', whatever makes your heart happiest.
It's not always easy to live your life with kindness, but Ellen Murray and her cat Bilbo are doing their best to spread messages of positivity to their followers. As an LGBT+ and disability activist, Ellen's goal has always been to make love, care and safety a reality for all but fighting for your own rights or standing as an ally to others can be daunting, intimidating and confusing work.
How to Be a Good Bboy is an accessible guide to understanding what human rights work is all about: how to get involved, navigate the inevitable pitfalls, overcome imposter syndrome and own your vulnerability and power.
It is about Bilbo, and about Ellen. About her work, and about how Bilbo's online presence is not just an accessory to that work but a way to channel the greater goals of her activism to a wider audience. It is about dignity, respect and justice, and ultimately how to be a very good bboy.
]]>Twitter: @ian_livingstone
Instagram: ianlivingstoneff
Each artist is profiled along with select examples of their best work in vibrant full colour, the astonishing detail on display in all its glory. It features the work some of the world's best fantasy artists including Chris Achilleos, John Blanche, Jim Burns, Les Edwards, Karl Kopinski, Iain McCaig, Martin McKenna, Ian Miller and Russ Nicholson, among others.
Written by Fighting Fantasy co-creator Ian Livingstone and Fighting Fantasy historian Jonathan Green, Magic Realms is a Who's Who of fantasy art an absolutely essential collector's item for any Fighting Fantasy fan.
]]>Jonathan Green is a writer of speculative fiction, with more than 80 books to his name. Well known for his contributions to the Fighting Fantasy gamebook series, he has also written fiction for Doctor Who, Star Wars, Warhammer and Marvel. He lives in Somerset, UK.
]]>There aren't many computer games that can justify an entire book, but for superfans, Alien: Isolation is truly extraordinary and Perfect Organism reveals all there is to know about every aspect of this masterful game.
Discover the rationale and authenticity of the set design and art direction, learn about the alien's unnerving abilities to second-guess the players and the importance of its unique height, find out more about the importance of the dynamic audio and the use of seventies archive soundbites, as well as the darkly beautiful music. And immerse yourself in the technical brilliance of the level design and the user interface, before reading about the deleted content, and the scenes and features that never made the final cut.
Alien: Isolation is a game of remarkable depth, complexity, and detail, and together with a level-by-level mission guide, this book will answer all of your questions, as well as many you haven't yet thought to ask!
]]>Attack of the Flickering Skeletons is even bigger than the original Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of this second excavation of gaming's buried past will not only unearth more appalling excuses for digital entertainment, but also feature guest contributors and several special interest chapters not based around single specific games.
These are NOT the games you've heard of a million times in YouTube videos. This is a compilation of truly obscure and dreadful games. Dripping with wry humour and featuring the best, worst graphics from the games themselves, this book encapsulates the atrocities produced in the days of tight budgets and low quality controls.
These are even more appalling games that leaked from the industry's tear ducts, taken down from the dusty shelves of history by the man who has somehow made a living by sticking rubbish on a sofa and talking about it.
]]>Twitter: @ian_livingstone
Instagram: ianlivingstoneff
Since starting out in 1975 as a part-time mail-order business in a modest third-floor flat in West London, Games Workshop has grown from its humble beginnings to become a FTSE 250 company listed on the London Stock Exchange. From distributing Dungeons & Dragons, to living in the back of a van, to opening Games Workshop stores, to creating Fighting Fantasy, to launching Warhammer, co-founders Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson tell their remarkable story for the first time.
Dice Men is the fascinating, never-before-told story of an iconic company which changed the world of tabletop gaming for ever. It's an insight into the rollercoaster first year of Games Workshop and the birth of the industry.
]]>Twitter: @ian_livingstone
Instagram: ianlivingstoneff
]]>As 95 per cent of our brain activity carries on at a subconscious level, we're not always aware of why we think what we think and do the things we do. Sometimes these subconscious wirings can make us think or act in ways that are not optimal for our happiness they can bring out the illogical in us all.
How Your Brain Is Wired draws on recent breakthroughs in our understanding of how the brain really works, empowering the reader to take control over their own behaviour. Full of insight and practical advice, it equips you with a toolkit of simple changes you can put into action to: reduce conflict and anxiety, achieve a positive mindset, make better decisions, have more fun and reach new goals.
This book is about rewiring your attitudes; re-seeing yourself and your choices. It reveals something rather magical: how tiny tweaks to your behavior can be all you need to deliver a big, sometimes thrilling, reboot to your life.
]]>Cathy Tomlinson is a behavioural researcher with years of consumer research experience. She led the book's volunteer 'brain team' on their journey of discovery and empowerment.
]]>Sour Mouth, Sweet Bottom: Lessons from a Dissolute Lifeis the book Simon Napier-Bell's fans have always hoped he'd write.
From 1940s London where he listened to wartime hits like 'Mairzy doats and dozy doats' in the air-raid shelter; to talking about Wham! with Deng Xiaoping, head of Communist China, or getting stoned with Elaine May and Jack Lemmon by the pool in 60s Beverly Hills,Sour Mouth, Sweet Bottommakes most memoirs look like thin gruel by comparison. This is a high-octane explosion of a book, a kaleidoscopic sequence of more than sixty 'lessons' drawn from a life lived to the full: frank, funny, freewheeling and honest.
There are anecdotes of the acts he managed (the Yardbirds, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Marc Bolan, Japan, Sinitta, Boney M, Candi Staton, Ultravox, Asia, Wham!, George Michael and Sinead O'Connor) but there's also the wisdom gathered from a louche life of clubs, restaurants, gigs, arrests, awards, bankruptcies, bereavements, booze, coups and sex, both gay and straight.
]]>He is the author of four acclaimed books about the music industry: You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, Black Vinyl White Powder, I'm Coming to Take You to Lunch and The Business. He is CEO of the Pierbel Entertainment Group, and continues to consult, write and broadcast on the music industry.
]]>In 1972, when Robert Elms was thirteen years old, he saw the Jackson 5 play live at the Empire Pool. At some point during the performance, he found himself in a state of otherworldly perfect synchronicity with everything happening around him. This single event would set him off on an endless pursuit for that same height of pleasure.
Since then, Robert has lived his life through live music, from pub rock to jazz funk, punk to country, and everything in between. Each gig is memorable in its own way, and his snapshots of musicians past and present are both evocative and startlingly concise: Tom Waits showboating with an umbrella, Grace Jones vogueing with a mannequin, Amy shimmying shamelessly like a little girl at a wedding, Gil Scott-Heron rapping with a conga drum.
While in our changed times, Robert notes that we have found new ways of listening - of being part of something special by uniting fans with their favourite performers online - there is not, nor can there ever be, anything quite like the live experience. Live!: Why We Go Out is a memoir and a musing on why experiencing live music really matters.
]]>For nearly 40 years Elms has been one of the most distinctive faces and voices in the British media. A journalist, author and presenter, his multi-award winning daily radio show on BBC London, covering all aspects of life in the metropolis, including his passion for great music, is the most listened to programme on British local radio.
The start of the 1980s also saw the start of The Face, the pioneering style bible, where Elms instantly found a niche for his diatribes on the intricacies of young urban life. Becoming an editor of The Face in his early twenties, he also contributed regularly to international magazines as well as most of the prestigious British newspapers. He began broadcasting for the BBC, most notably as part of the team of Loose Ends on Radio 4 where he won his first Sony.
In 1986 he combined two ambitions by going to live in Spain to write his debut novel. In Search Of The Crack was a Penguin original when he was just 27. He also began travel writing for the Sunday Times, who regularly printed his portraits of places as diverse as Venice and Buenos Aires, Istanbul and New Orleans. Elms continued his obsession with Iberia by writing his second book Spain: A Portrait After The General which was nominated as travel book of the year in 1992.
]]>Comedy is a game that all humans play. There are big social prizes if you win, but it is easy to end up with custard pie on your face...or worse.
Comedy can soothe our pain, vent our anger, make us feel less alone and provide the answer to life's most difficult questions, such as, 'What do you call a man with a seagull on his head?' It's a social glue but it can also be divisive, and the joke is on us if we don't understand how it works.
So, what are the rules? How does comedy do its magic and why does it matter? Join professional comedy writer Joel Morris on a hilarious journey into the hidden world of shared laughter where he reveals the mechanisms that make jokes work and what comedy can teach us about ourselves. Offering astute analysis of everything from stand-up to slapstick and sitcom to spoof, Morris examines comedic patterns, rhythms and dynamics to uncover the algorithms that secretly underpin comedy.
Packed with gags and examples of comedy at its best plus some invaluable tips on how to master that b'dum tish timing Be Funny or Die is a fascinating investigation into how our species has developed and mastered this essential art form where laughter is the universal language and only the funniest survive.
]]>Folklorist Ben Gazur guides you through the dark alleys of British history to uncover how our food habits have been passed down through generations of folklore.
Who was the first person to throw salt over their shoulder? Why do we think carrots can help us see in the dark? When did we start holding village fairs to honour gigantic apple pies? Or start hurling ourselves down hills in pursuit of a wheel of cheese? Gazur investigates the origins of famous food superstitions as well as much more bizarre and lesser-known tales too, from what day the devil urinates on blackberries to how to stop witches using eggshells as escape boats.
Hilarious and fascinating, A Feast of Folklore will introduce you to the gloriously eccentric folk who aren't often noticed by historians. Here lies a smorgasbord of their dark remedies and deadly delicacies, waiting to be discovered.
]]>"Packed full of approachable and inspiring recipes...thoroughly modern and highly rewarding.' Ravinder Bhogal
"Every recipe is packed with flavour.' Dan Lepard
Sanjana Feasts is a collection of dazzling recipes of modern Indian diaspora vegetarian and vegan food.
Sanjana Modha's flavourful and vibrant recipes are rooted in her Indian heritage, East African family background, and Yorkshire childhood. This book showcases the varied ingredients and unique combinations that are authentic to Sanjana's upbringing, and includes signature dishes such as Ruffled Biryani, Madras Mac and Cheese with Naan Crumbs, Desi-inspired French Bread Pizza and Sticky Toffee Gulab Jamun, as well as delicious Indian classics.
Over the last few years Sanjana has seen a visible shift in the Western understanding of what Indian food is. It's gone from curry-house creations, to an exploration of regional food, to fusion cuisine and more recently, an appreciation of street food and casual dining. Today, Indian food is a cacophony of all these elements and more, and Sanjana is forging yet another new direction with the food of diasporic communities, and the flavours of a new generation.
Sanjana Feasts will inspire you both to incorporate these delicious recipes into your everyday cooking, and to raise your game in the kitchen with her tips for the classics.
]]>Award-winning campaigner and founder of the global Craftivist Collective Sarah Corbett shows how to respond to injustice not with apathy or aggression, but with gentle, effective protest.
This is a manifesto for a more respectful and contemplative activism; for conversation and collaboration where too often these is division and conflict; for using craft to engage, empower and encourage us all to be the change we wish to see in the world.
Sarah's craftivism has helped change laws and business policies as well as hearts and minds; here, with thoughtful principles and practical examples, she shows that quiet action can speak as powerfully as the loudest voice.
]]>Sarah Sin Chave takes us on a journey from Hafren's source to the sea, following Hafren's route from Pumlumon in Wales and meandering through England, before she finds her way back home to Wales and to the sea. The journey weaves together Celtic myths, historical and personal narratives as well as Welsh words and ideas.
Hafren not only speaks to the wisdom of this river, but of all rivers, encouraging readers to understand better their place as part of nature. This book will appeal to those interested in nature, sustainability and ecology, and also to those interested in Celtic and Welsh traditions, histories and myths.
]]>Don Paterson is the author of sixteen books of poetry, aphorism, criticism and poetic theory. His poetry has won many awards, including the Whitbread Poetry Prize, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, the Costa Poetry Award, and three Forward Prizes; he is the only poet to have won the T.S. Eliot Prize on two occasions. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of St Andrews and for twenty-five years was Poetry Editor at Picador Macmillan. He is a Fellow of the English Association, the Royal Society of Literature, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He received the OBE in 2008 and the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 2010.
]]>Including extracts from prose, poetry and historical documents, this book is an enthralling journey through the year and the pageants, parades, festivals and fairs which have played a huge part in Scottish life. It introduces the customs, traditions, lore and crafts associated with them, making it the ideal companion for anyone interested in this fascinating and rich aspect of Scotland's cultural story.
]]>This comprehensive book features more than 500 placenames and is an essential book for all interested in Scottish history and culture.
]]>Their neighbours are few, but among them they find the generosity and community spirit that has survived in the Highlands for generations. Working as a tight family unit, they learn to cope, and in time grow to love their little croft.
]]>Annie Worsley is a writer, geographer, grandmother and crofter who lives in North West Scotland. Her first book, Windswept, was published in August 2023.
]]>The Picts have fascinated for centuries. They emerged c. ad 300 to defy the might of the Roman empire only to disappear at the end of the first millennium ad, yet they left major legacies. They laid the foundations for the medieval Scottish kingdom and their captivating carved stones are some of the most eye-catching yet enigmatic monuments in Europe. Until recently the Picts have been difficult to trace due to limited archaeological investigation and documentary sources, but innovative new research has produced critical new insights into the culture of a highly sophisticated society which defied the might of the Roman Empire and forged a powerful realm dominating much of northern Britain.
This is the first dedicated book on the Picts that covers in detail both their archaeology and their history. It examines their kingdoms, culture, beliefs and everyday lives from their origins to their end, not only incorporating current thinking on the subject, but also offering innovative perspectives that transform our understanding of the early history of Scotland.
]]>Nicholas Evans is a Research Fellow on the Leverhulme Trust funded Comparative Kingship: the Early Medieval Kingdoms of Northern Britain and Ireland project at the University of Aberdeen. He is a historian whose research and teaching have focussed on the medieval Celtic-speaking societies of Britain and Ireland. He is the author of The Present and the Past in Medieval Irish Chronicles (Boydell Press, 2010), A Historical Introduction to the Northern Picts (Aberdeen University/Tarbat Discovery Centre, 2014) and co-author of King in the North: The Pictish Realms of Fortriu and Ce (Birlinn 2019).
]]>The only power otherwise powerless people possess lies in their numbers. Riots and Rebels is an examination of how they have exercised that power over the centuries and how governments have reacted to it. From the so-called Peasants' Revolt to Just Stop Oil, via the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots of 1780, Luddites breaking machinery which threatened their livelihood, the infamous Peterloo Massacre of 1819, the Chartist demonstrations of the 1830s and 1840s, 1887's Bloody Sunday and many other, often violent events, Nick Rennison provides a concise, compelling account of popular protest in Britain.
Praise for Nick Rennison:
'Entertaining and thoroughly readable canter through the events of a century ago... Fascinating' - Observer
'A delightful book... Intelligent and lively' - Scotsman
'Hugely entertaining... often wryly amusing... plenty of light entertainment and colourful anecdote' - Mail on Sunday
'Rennison proves a chatty and amiable guide and offers an enjoyable and evocative ramble down memory lane' - Telegraph
'Fascinating and highly readable' - Daily Mail
]]>Agee is a writer particularly concerned with the 'ethical imagination' as exemplified by his 'poetic work of nonfiction' Trump Rant, a nuanced exploration of authoritarian drift and thwarted democratic aspiration in a number of world-historical contexts, from Belfast to the Balkans to the formerly Confederate South. He divides his time between Ireland, Scotland and Croatia.
]]>Did you know a Canadian coined the term 'mulligan' a noun meaning 'do-over' which many recreational golfers take on the first tee after an errant drive? Or that the creators of one of the greatest board games ever, Trivial Pursuit, also built a devilish golf course north of Toronto? How about this fact: the world's most expensive public golf course will set you back $1,000 to play just one round. Here's one more: Scotland, where golf was invented in the Middle Ages, later banned the sport not just once, but three times.
In 101 Fascinating Golf Facts, author, historian, and award-winning golf journalist David McPherson shares these stories and 97 more fascinating and fun tales that illustrate the sport's rich history, entertaining both golf lovers and trivia buffs alike.
]]>Fodor's Chicago travel guide includes:
Planning on visiting more of the USA's great cities? Check out Fodor's New York City and Fodor's Philadelphia
*Important note for digital editions: The digital edition of this guide does not contain all the images or text included in the physical edition.
]]>Fodor's 'Essential' guides were named by Booklist as the Best Travel Guide Series of 2020!
Fodor's Essential Vietnam travel guide includes:
Planning on visiting Thailand or Cambodia? Check out Fodor's Essential Thailand: with Cambodia & Laos
*Important note for digital editions: The digital edition of this guide does not contain all the images or text included in the physical edition.
ABOUT FODOR'S AUTHORS: Each Fodor's Travel Guide is researched and written by local experts. Fodor's has been offering expert advice for all tastes and budgets for over 80 years. For more travel inspiration, you can sign up for our travel newsletter at fodors.com/newsletter/signup, or follow us @FodorsTravel on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We invite you to join our friendly community of travel experts at fodors.com/community to ask any other questions and share your experience with us!
]]>Fodor's European Cruise Ports of Call travel guide includes:
Planning on spending more time in Europe? Check out Fodor's Essential Italy, Fodor's Provence & the French Riviera, and Fodor's Essential Great Britain.
*Important note for digital editions: The digital edition of this guide does not contain all the images or text included in the physical edition.
ABOUT FODOR'S AUTHORS: Each Fodor's Travel Guide is researched and written by local experts. Fodor's has been offering expert advice for all tastes and budgets for over 80 years. For more travel inspiration, you can sign up for our travel newsletter at fodors.com/newsletter/signup, or follow us @FodorsTravel on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We invite you to join our friendly community of travel experts at fodors.com/community to ask any other questions and share your experience with us!
]]>Beginning with the earliest Greek literature, the epics of Homer and Hesiod, beauty was seen as having a special connection with the divine. The gods of ancient Greece were defined by their exceptional beauty; even today, 'to look like a Greek god' is proverbial for human beauty. In Beauty and the Gods, Hugo Shakeshaft explores the relationship between the beautiful and divine in ancient Greece, principally in the Archaic period (ca. 750-480 BCE). Analysing evidence that ranges from poetry, art, and philosophical texts to architecture and the natural landscape, Shakeshaft shows how ideas and experiences of beauty shaped Greek relations with the divine.
With a powerful call for the place of beauty and aesthetics in the writing of history, Shakeshaft uncovers the cultural dialogue between beauty and the gods in a variety of contexts in the Archaic Greek world: in forms of divine worship; in poetry, music, and dance; in attitudes to the natural environment; and in architecture and art. This early chapter of Greek history, he argues, holds an unrecognised key to understanding some long-running threads in the histories of religion, art, and aesthetics, from Plato's aesthetic theories to beauty's status in contemporary discourse. Beauty's deep past and divine connection in ancient Greece can help us see beauty now in sharper focus.
]]>After Sir John Franklin and his ships disappeared in the Arctic while seeking the Northwest Passage, 39 rescue missions were launched, including one by the Resolute, the Royal Navy's finest vessel. In 1854, it became locked in the ice and was abandoned. A year later, a Connecticut whaling ship discovered it drifting 1,200 miles away, a 600-ton ghost ship. The whalers boarded the Resolute and steered it through a ferocious hurricane back to Connecticut. The US government re-outfitted the ship and returned it to Queen Victoria, who, in 1879, had its best timbers made into a desk for President Rutherford B. Hayes a desk still in use today. Rare photographs, paintings, engravings, and maps illustrate the book throughout. This edition is updated with a new chapter on the discovery of Franklin's ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, in 2014 and 2016 in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
This legendary maritime epic is perfect for fans of David Grann's The Wager and Hampton Sides's The Wide Wide Sea.
]]>Once again, Patricia Telesco has provided a treasury of knowledge in her green-thumb-approved book, Gardening with the Goddess. Gardening has never been more magical! Explore different plants and their associations with the Goddess, create gardens timed around the moon and astrological signs, use crystals to enhance your power, and much more. Especially designed to accommodate the large backyard and small back porch planters, there's something for every witch in Gardening with the Goddess.
This title was previously published in 2001.
]]>In this captivating book, the authors bring us the inspiring stories of people around the world working to conserve orchids. This captivating book explores global stories of the orchid, with cultural history and scientific discoveries throughout. Heavily illustrated throughout with stunning colour photographs, this hopeful story celebrates the work of conservationists overcoming unique challenges to save the treasured orchid plant family and inspire us all to participate in orchid conservation.
]]>Lawrence W. Zettler is a biology professor at Illinois College and research associate at the Chicago Botanic Garden. He illustrated two entomology books and has coauthored over 70 scientific papers.
]]>'Brilliant...Gail Harland's research is impeccable, her dialogue with the reader is comfortable and the photographs are utter confection for the eye. This will accomplish for Paeonia what Anna Pavord's The Tulip did for the appreciation of the singular impact on our collective horti(cultural) identity by a single genus of plants.' Daniel J. Hinkley, author of Windcliff: A Story of People, Plants, and Gardens
'In this extensively researched, highly informative book, Gail Harland presents an entertaining and fascinating guide to a group of one of our favourite garden plants, peonies. No stone is left unturned in this wide-ranging, beautifully illustrated account, which describes not only aspects of their biology and cultivation, but also highlights their cultural significance in herbal medicine, literature, art, and music.' Richard J. Gornall, University of Leicester
]]>In a world of instant gratification where the American Dream is quickly fading and the push toward entrepreneurship as a means of stability grows ever greater, let it be known that there is still a way to live abundantly on the 9 to 5 grind. Tailored for trailblazing Black women and women of colour, The Financial Abundance Blueprint blends personal anecdotes, actionable advice, and a touch of humour.
From dispelling myths around building wealth to revealing corporate's unwritten rules, this transformative guide will teach you the basics of:
Whether you're a Gen-Zer taking the first steps into adulthood or a millennial working your way through life, The Financial Abundance Blueprint is the perfect roadmap on the journey to achieving financial freedom!
]]>Rugby is a game that rewards creative expression, toil, teamwork and a never-say-die attitude. It can be joyful, vibrant and beautiful. Equally, it can brutally expose human flaws and frailties even more so in the hugely pressurised environment of a Lions tour. Every team, no matter how talented, will find itself in dark and difficult situations both on and off the field; the successful ones are those with a leadership group that can navigate these challenging moments.
InLegacy of the Lions, former Lions captain Gavin Hastings draws on his own experiences in the famous red jersey and interviews other greats of the game including, among many others, Sam Warburton, Warren Gatland, Paul O'Connell, Brian O'Driscoll, Martin Johnson, Finlay Calder and Sir Ian McGeechan, plus a selection of their illustrious opponents, such as Kieran Read, John Smit and John Eales to explore how to forge a successful team in this most rarefied of environments, the difficulties they each encountered and what leadership lessons they learned.
Inspiring, humorous and illuminating,Legacy of the Lionscasts a unique light on leadership, team-building and elite performance and reveals a new perspective on touring with and playing against The British & Irish Lions in the modern era.
'An intriguing study of the minds of some of rugby's greatest leaders' Tom English, BBC Sport
]]>Peter Burns is the author of eight books, including the best-selling and critically acclaimed When Lions Roared, Behind the Lions and Behind the Thistle.
]]>Rachael Piltch-Loeb was juggling a young family and a flourishing academic career when her father was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. Her experience was the inspiration for The Millennial Caregiver, a heartfelt and practical guide for millennials balancing early adulthood with the demands of caregiving. The book explores challenges unique to the millennial generation from emotional strain and financial pressures to social isolation and role reversal and provides insightful strategies to manage these issues. It also highlights the role technology can play for digital natives in caregiving, offering tips for utilising digital tools and building support networks.
Millennials represent a large and growing portion of today's caregiving population. The Millennial Caregiver is a beacon of hope and a valuable resource for younger people navigating the complex terrain of caring for loved ones while forging their own path.
]]>In today's dynamic business environment, the success of any organisation is deeply rooted in the quality of its internal relationships. In The Relationship-Driven Leader, psychologist and organisational behaviour expert Dr. Karen Bridbord offers a revolutionary guide to career success and advancement, regardless of your industry, your company's size, or your role. This groundbreaking book sheds light on how nurturing strong work relationships can lead to unmatched productivity and greater overall wellness throughout the organisation and among its staff. Through compelling research and insightful case studies, Bridbord reveals the detrimental impact dysfunctional relationships can have on both personal and business achievements, and how to come back from 'relationship system failure'. By rethinking workplace relationships, you can foster deeper connections within your team, resulting in enhanced cohesion and well-being for all members.
The Relationship-Driven Leader explores the profound influence of everyday interactions on team experience and team performance. Bridbord emphasises the importance of 'micro-moments' in leadership to spark significant improvements. This book empowers you to take the first step toward becoming the leader everyone aspires to work with by enhancing your leadership skills, boosting workplace productivity, and mastering innovative conflict-management techniques. By focusing on well-being through relationship-building, you can create a healthier, more engaged, and more productive team.
]]>A clear, new case for reparations as a 'constructive', future-oriented project that responds to the weight of history's injustices with the equitable distribution of benefits and burdens. Centuries ago, Tw explains, European powers engineered the systems through which advantages and disadvantages still flow. Colonialism and transatlantic slavery forged schemes of injustice on an unprecedented scale, a world order he calls 'global racial empire'. The project of justice must meet the same scope.
Tw's analysis not only discourages despair, it demands global resistance. Reconsidering Reparations suggests policies, goals, and organising strategies. And it leaves readers with clear and powerful advice: act like an ancestor. Do what we can to shape the world we want our moral descendants to inherit, and have faith that they will continue the long struggle for justice. This understanding, Tw shows, has deep roots in the thought of Black political thinkers such as James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cedric Robinson, and Nkechi Taifa.
Reconsidering Reparations is a book with profound implications for our views of justice, racism, the legacies of slavery and colonialism, and climate change policy.
'Coursing with moral urgency and propelled by brilliant prose, this is more than argument. It's how we build the power needed to win.' Naomi Klein
]]>A Financial Times Summer Read
The story of our National Debt told through key events in British history.
While it is central to today's politics, few people fully understand the National Debt and its role in shaping the course of British history. Without it, Britain would not have gained and lost two empires, nor won its wars against France and Germany. But Britain has also been moulded by attempts to break free of the Debt, from postwar Keynesian economics to today's austerity.
Martin Slater writes a vivid tale coloured with some of the most dramatic incidents and personalities of Britain's past from clashes between King and Parliament, American independence and war in Europe, to the abolition of slavery, the development of the Union and the role of leading figures such as Pitt, Gladstone, Adam Smith and Keynes.
From medieval times to the 2008 financial crash and beyond, The National Debt explores the changing fortunes of the Debt, and so of Great Britain.
]]>A sympathetic critique that attempts to free Left politics from its own snares, States of Injury explores how woundedness became a basis for contemporary political identity. Without condemning identity politics, Wendy Brown carefully probes the varied historical forces generating them today and the ways these formative conditions constrain emancipatory desire. Along the way, she advances a novel feminist critical theory of liberalism and the liberal democratic state. She also develops an original theoretical practice that weaves together Nietzsche, Marx, Weber, Foucault, and cultural theories of gender and race to analyse contemporary political predicaments. In a new preface, Brown places States of Injury in political and intellectual context, including the rise of neoliberalism, and addresses the book's renewed relevance in today's political landscape.
]]>Political thinkers from Plato to John Adams saw revolutions as a grave threat to society and advocated for a constitution that prevented them by balancing social interests and forms of government. The Revolution to Come traces how evolving conceptions of history ushered in a faith in the power of revolution to create more just and reasonable societies.
Taking readers from Greek antiquity to Leninist Russia, Dan Edelstein describes how classical philosophers viewed history as chaotic and directionless, and sought to keep historical change especially revolutions at bay. This conception prevailed until the eighteenth century, when Enlightenment thinkers conceived of history as a form of progress and of revolution as its catalyst. These ideas were put to the test during the French Revolution and came to define revolutions well into the twentieth century. Edelstein demonstrates how the coming of the revolution leaves societies divided over its goals, giving rise to new forms of violence in which rivals are targeted as counterrevolutionaries.
A panoramic work of intellectual history, The Revolution to Come challenges us to reflect on the aims and consequences of revolution and to balance the value of stability over the hope for change in our own moment of fear and upheaval.
]]>In the increasingly competitive world of academia, simply mastering your discipline is no longer enough to guarantee career success or personal fulfillment. The Entrepreneurial Scholar challenges scholars at all stages from doctoral students to tenured professors to break free from conventional academic pathways by adopting an entrepreneurial mindset. What opportunities can you create based on who you are, what you know, and who you know?
Drawing on her experiences in higher education, start-ups, and management consulting, as well as interviews with a range of academics and entrepreneurs, Ilana Horwitz provides a road map for those stifled by traditional academic norms and expectations. This book calls on scholars to create ideas not just consume them. It offers strategies to thrive in academia with limited resources and in the face of uncertainty. Embracing an entrepreneurial mindset entails viewing yourself as a knowledge producer, enhancing collaboration, creatively identifying resources, and effectively sharing your ideas.
Horwitz empowers all scholars particularly women and first-generation, low-income, and BIPOC individuals to see themselves as proactive agents in their educational and career trajectories, despite structural constraints, unclear expectations, or unresponsive advisors. With actionable advice, real-world applications, and inspiring success stories, this guide is vital for anyone aspiring to excel within and beyond the ivory tower.
]]>'Eric Marshall White's Johannes Gutenberg: A Biography in Books brings us as close to Gutenberg as the evidence allows: stripping away myth and guesswork, this book is invigorating and hard to put down.' Erik Kwakkel, author of Books Before Print
]]>After three decades of loyal and distinguished service in the Russian Tsarist army, he returned to his homeland in 1917 to defend its new independence. This iconic figure led the Finnish forces as Commander-in-Chief during both World Wars, then ended his career as President of Finland.
This new critical biography sets Mannerheim's entire life's work, and his often nerve-wracking decisions as a Finnish leader on the world stage, against the backdrop of his elite upbringing and lifestyle, his adventurous imperial career, his outspoken anti-communism, and his keen instincts for great power politics. Painful details emerge about Mannerheim's private life, and myths and rumours are scrutinised, as Henrik Meinander charts the complex legacy of this nationalist cosmopolitan who found himself fighting on the same side as Hitler.
Meinander paints his portrait with strong contrasts and bright colours. This is the story of a multicultural Russian empire, a newborn nation-state treading warily between Europe's military titans, a front of the Second World War not easily reduced to moral binaries and, above all, a shrewd political operator playing many a dangerous game.
'Authoritative and accessible to general readers...Finland does owe a great debt to Mannerheim. As with Churchill or de Gaulle, a proper assessment of his historical importance requires us to strip away the myths and focus on the facts of his career a task Meinander fulfils admirably.' Financial Times
'[Meinander] has succeeded handsomely. Mannerheim oozes good sense and generosity to its predecessors and deserves to become the new standard popular book on its subject.' The Times
]]>At the core of the Christian faith lies the spiritual journey to the heart of ultimate reality, or God described by some mystics as a 'dazzling darkness'. For over 2,000 years, certain women and men have experienced various degrees of direct communion with God, from mild illuminations to a union in which the will of the mystic has been consumed.
This book explores such spiritual figures' lives and teachings, alongside their personal and historical backgrounds, from early Christendom to modern mystics such as Simone Weil and Thomas Merton. It reveals that the English anchoress Julian of Norwich grew up while the Black Death was devastating Europe; that the beguine Marguerite Porete lived at a time when the Church was particularly primed to burn 'heretics' a fate she suffered; and that Pierre Teilhard de Chardin developed his idea of spiritual evolution with Charles Darwin's theories in the air.
Comprehensive, deeply researched and highly engaging, Dazzling Darkness tells the stories of towering figures like Hildegard of Bingen, Teresa of vila and John of the Cross. Its pages also highlight many lesser-known mystics, including Mary of Egypt, Seraphim of Sarov and Charles de Foucauld, allowing their voices to sing out to future generations.
]]>This is an updated version of the book that has become the go-to resource for Yin Yoga teachers all over the world and has been required reading in many teacher training programs. All forms of yoga can provide benefits physically, emotionally, and mentally, however Yin Yoga works the deeper levels of the body/heart/mind: the yin tissues of fascia, tendons, ligaments, joints and bones, as well as the energetic channels of the meridians, nerves and blood system. One big difference noticed by students of Yin Yoga is the long-held, passive nature of the posture, which gives time for a deeper journey to unfold, a journey into the meditative aspects of yoga, a bridge to living life mindfully. The second edition includes-a more functional approach to the practice of yoga, emphasising the concept of targeted areas; the importance of stress in reducing fragility and building antifragility; understanding the nature of creep and the importance of counterposes, with a revised list of effective counterpostures; many new photographs of the postures and their variations for different body types; a more current overview of the physiology of tissues and the energy body reflecting new understanding in the science of fascia and cellular signaling; and many other enhancements. As in the first edition, the book presents comprehensive information on how to do the practice, including how to get into and out of the pose, contraindications and warnings for those who may have trouble with particular aspects of the posture, and other important information. Why we do the practice is discussed by looking at its benefits in three main sections: the physiological, energetic and mental/emotional benefits.
'Bernie Clark's The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga is one of the best yoga resources now available.' - Paul Grilley, author of Yin Yoga: Outline of a Quiet Practice
]]>In the style and spirit ofMausby Art Spiegelman or Marjane Satrapi'sPersepolis, Leila Abdelrazaq explores her father's childhood in the 1960s and '70s from a boy's eye view as he witnesses the world crumbling around him and attempts to carry on, forging his own path in the midst of terrible uncertainty.
'Leila Abdelrazaq tells a coming of age story that is funny, angry and deeply human.' - Molly Crabapple
'The story of the Palestinian refugees is one we need to know. Leila Abdelrazaq tells this tale with love andhumour.' -Seth David Tobocman
Warm and wry, mixing high culture and suburban realism, the laconic and the artful, Anything Can Happen is a memoir from one of Australia's literary trailblazers. Funny, heartbreaking, it has exactly the arc of a good story, with a theme about storytelling and lies and how truth and memory are complex. It keeps in play so many things: irony and spirituality, a slice of social history of Sydney's inner west, a farm in Victoria, a lesbian subculture, Mardi Gras, the literary pleasures of teaching writing. Juxtaposition is her gift, as is the very natural speaking voice. With the eye of a poet, and the dry drollery of someone who has experienced it all, straight and married, gay and married, mother, friend, lover, writer, this is a raw and powerful account of a life lived fully.
'I love this memoir - it's the sort of writing Hampton excels at. There's no-one else I know who can hit that dry, droll, edgy note and conjure place and time and character and the random nature of memory and story-telling.' Kim Mahood
'Alive and compelling, and served up in perfect mouthfuls, like an antipasto plate . . . Honesty, great sentences, good flow. Surprises, escalation, energy, digression and return, causation.' Gail Bell
]]>The long-awaited essay collection from one of the most influential voices in disability activism that detonates a bomb in our collective understanding of care and illness, showing us that sickness is a fact of life.
In the wake of the 2014 Ferguson riots, and sick with a chronic condition that rendered them housebound, Johanna Hedva turned to the page to ask: How do you throw a brick through the window of a bank if you can't get out of bed? It was not long before this essay, 'Sick Woman Theory', became a seminal work on disability, because in reframing illness as not just a biological experience but a social one, Hedva argues that under capitalism a system that limits our worth to the productivity of our bodies we must reach for the revolutionary act of caring for ourselves and others.
How to Tell When We Will Die expands upon Hedva's paradigm-shifting perspective in a series of slyly subversive and razor-sharp essays that range from the theoretical to the personal from Deborah Levy and Susan Sontag to wrestling, kink, mysticism, death, and the color yellow. Drawing from their experiences with America's byzantine healthcare system, and considering archetypes they call The Psychotic Woman, The Freak, and The Hag in Charge, Hedva offers a bracing indictment of the politics that exploit sickness relying on and fueling ableism to the detriment of us all.
With the insight of Anne Boyer's The Undying and Leslie Jamison's The Empathy Exams, and the wit of Samantha Irby, Hedva's debut collection upends our collective understanding of disability. In their radical reimagining of a world where care and pain are symbiotic, and our bodies are allowed to live free and well, Hedva implores us to remember that illness is neither an inconvenience or inevitability, but an enlivening and elemental part of being alive.
]]>The First Wiradyuri War of Resistance ended in 1824 with a series of massacres conducted by settlers in the Bathurst region. From the 1830s, colonists began occupying more and more Aboriginal land across western New South Wales and stocking it with sheep and cattle. By 1838, a dramatic fightback began across the entire frontier of the colony. What has been called the Second Wiradyuri War of Resistance, from 1839 to 1841, was, in fact, part of a vast arc of conflict from present-day northern Victoria through to southeast Queensland. At the time, it was seen by many contemporaries as a concerted and coordinated 'uprising'.
In Uprising, Stephen Gapps reveals the incredible story of this extensive frontier resistance warfare for the first time a series of wars that were conducted along a huge area of the Murray-Darling river system, across many First Nations' lands, in a concerted defence of River Country.
'Stephen Gapps' work is a significant contribution to truth-telling in Australian history.' Anita Heiss
'A great and much needed account. And yet another loud cry to break the great Australian silence.' John Maynard
'For all Australians to truly understand their history, the Australian Wars need to be a prominent part of our national story. At a time when we need to think deeply about how the past impacts our future, Uprising is essential reading.' Rachel Perkins
'This is a must-read! Uprising is a landmark book at the forefront of the new and exciting scholarship about the Australian Wars. In a brilliant synthesis, Gapps draws together his deep research with extensive consultation with Elders and local knowledge holders and, just as importantly, his detailed understanding of the country in contention.' Henry Reynolds
'[An] outstanding work for communities and historians.' Heidi Norman, The Conversation Australia
]]>The Aboriginal Land Rights Act in NSW includes unique features that remain unrealised in other parts of the country. The laws announced the policy of self-determination, compensation for loss, a land claims process, support for enterprises and the establishment of a network of land councils. Today there are 120 land councils that operate across the state.
Yet significant features of the land rights promise remain outstanding. Less than 1 per cent of the state has been restituted to Aboriginal land councils, with tens of thousands of land claims yet to be determined.
In Land Back, Professor Heidi Norman, a leading expert on Aboriginal political history, has brought together voices at the forefront of the land rights movement, including lawyers, NSW Aboriginal Land Council Youth Committee members, students, academics, activists and organisers, to share the successes, failures and possible futures of NSW land rights.
]]>Rather, the first politically organised and united all-Aboriginal activist group was the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association (AAPA), begun in 1924 under the leadership of Frederick Maynard.
For the first time Aboriginal people voiced their disapproval in public in a well-organised way. They opened offices in Sydney, held street rallies, conducted public meetings, gained newspaper coverage, wrote letters and petitions to Government at all levels, and collaborated with the international black labour movement. The AAPA's demands still resonate today. They centred on Aboriginal rights to land, stopping Aboriginal children being taken from their families, the acquisition of citizenship rights, and defending a distinct Aboriginal cultural identity.
This form of resistance and organised action has now endured for more than 100 years. In this exploration of the life and times of his grandfather, John Maynard uncovers the AAPA's invaluable legacy.
]]>A guiding theme is the creative practice of internationally renowned artist Maree Clarke (Mutti Mutti/ Wamba Wamba/ Yorta Yorta/ Boonwurrung). Maree's talent for collaborations and passion for reclaiming and reviving arts practices over almost forty years has seen her recognised as a leading southeast Australian artist, with invitations to work in France, Italy, Japan, Cuba, UK, Canada and the USA.
ngargee is a collection of intercultural partnerships that prioritise learning with and about First Nations artists to support Indigenous knowledge systems. These engagements take us from possum skin cloak-making in modern-day Melbourne, to 19th century German paintings, to sharing the knowledge and art of feather flower-making revivified in Maree's backyard. Each chapter showcases southeast Australian contemporary Aboriginal creatives with international and Australian co-producers.
ngargee presents a model of intercultural collaboration led by Aboriginal artists and knowledge holders. Southeast Australian Aboriginal art here receives the attention and celebration it so richly deserves. This vibrant and multivocal collection is an indispensable resource for all Australian museums and galleries, and anyone who wants to learn more about contemporary First Nations art.
ngargee means coming together to celebrate in Boonwurrung language, where celebrations are accompanied and demonstrated through the act of making art. Just as art and culture cannot be separated, neither can celebration and art-making.
]]>Sabra Thorner is a cultural anthropologist who has worked with Indigenous Australians for more than twenty years, focusing on photography, digital technologies and archiving as forms of cultural activism. In the past few years, her work has increasingly turned towards collaborative and decolonising methodologies in both research/writing and in teaching/learning. She is especially interested in contemporary arts and cultural production, matriarchal forms of knowledge transmission, and storytelling as an expression of Indigenous sovereignty. She's held fellowships from AIATSIS, Fulbright, Mellon, the Smithsonian and Wenner-Gren, and has published her work in Museum Anthropology, AnthroVision, The Journal of Material Culture, Oceania and Visual Anthropology Review. She is an assistant professor at Mount Holyoke College.
Maree Clarke (Yorta Yorta/Wamba Wamba/Mutti Mutti/Boonwurrung) is an artist and curator who grew up in Mildura (northwest Victoria), on the banks of the Murray River, and who has been living and working in Melbourne for over 30 years. She has become a pivotal figure in the revitalisation of southeast Australian Aboriginal art and cultural practices. This includes possum skin cloaks, kangaroo teeth necklaces, eel traps, kopi mourning caps and much more in both traditional materials and contemporary, such as glass and 3D printing. Her practice includes lenticular prints, 3D photographs and photographic holograms, as well as painting, sculpture and video installation. The through line of her work is to facilitate intercultural dialogue and collaboration about the ongoing effects of colonisation, while simultaneously providing space for Aboriginal people and communities to engage with and mourn the impact of dispossession and loss. She is deeply committed to transmitting knowledge to younger generations (and anyone else who is willing to learn). Clarke has exhibited her work widely in Australia and beyond, and her work is held by the Koorie Heritage Trust, Museums Victoria and the National Gallery of Australia. In 2021, her work was featured in a major retrospective, Ancestral Memories, at the National Gallery of Victoria.
]]>Celebrating the landmark presentation of Emily Kam Kngwarray at Tate Modern, London, this vibrantly illustrated publication is reissued in paperback featuring Kngwarray's monumental The Alhalker Suite.
Offering insights into Emily Kam Kngwarray's life and work, the book features original research from curators and academics and reflections from the artist's Community. From early vibrant batiks to her later paintings on canvas, the publication brings together Kngwarray's most significant works. It includes rare archival images and a visual record of Community consultations and visits to Kngwarray's Country.
Emily Kam Kngwarray is published following major retrospectives at the National Gallery of Australia and Tate Modern, London.
]]>Hetti Perkins, Arrernte/Kalkadoon peoples, is a curator, writer, advisor and presenter with 30 years of national and international experience working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual arts.
Jennifer Green is a linguist based in the School of Languages and Linguistics at the University of Melbourne.
]]>Ikuntji Artists presents Ikuntji Textiles, a book about the development of the designs, their stories and the artists behind them, and the collaborations.
This full colour publication gives an insight into our range of wearable art textiles. Texts included range from interviews with our artists in Luritja and English, expert voices in the field of textile design, collaborators and our staff who have been on this journey with us.
This book is the result of years of artistic workshops and the recording of stories with the artists. It is self published by Ikuntji Artists through the support of donors. The research is funded by Indigenous Languages and Arts funding.
]]>In November 2009, Genevieve Campbell and eleven Tiwi colleagues travelled to Canberra to reclaim these archived songs and song texts. The Old Songs are Always New explores their return home to the Tiwi Islands and reveals that the fundamentally contemporary, topical and current nature of the Tiwi song culture has resulted in the preservation of a rich social, cultural and historical oral record.
Campbell describes the melody, rhythm, vocal technique, language, performance context and function of the twelve Tiwi song types, and gives an overview of the language and poetic devices used in song composition.
]]>From May 1981 to June 1982, ethnochoreologist Megan Morais lived in Willowra in the Northern Territory, working with the Warlpiri community. The Warlpiri women and Megan worked as an impromptu team documenting their dances as performed in yawulyu women's ceremony as well as documenting traditional movement patterns.
Warlpiri women in Willowra generously and with trust, shared their music, songs, dances, designs and associated knowledge of yawulyu which is now being returned to them.
A recent collaboration between Megan and musicologist Myfany Turpin and the Willowra community has resulted in this book which provides the means for current and future generations to access the knowledge shared by the Warlpiri women.
Women of land-owning groups who have inherited sovereignty, and other important women in the community, have granted permission to publish the designs, songs and jukurrpa stories in this book. More than that, they urged publication so they would have a resource to teach their children and grandchildren. The co-authors each contributed to the book according to their authority, knowledge and strengths.
Proceeds from sales of this book will be returned to the Warlpiri community.
]]>The late Lucy Nampijinpa Martin was an integral part of the women's business (ritual ceremony and activity) documented in 1981-82. She has been essential in the repatriation of materials to the community. As one of the leading business women in Willowra she was the one who knew the songs, designs and dances. Lucy's work features throughout this book it includes the designs she drew from 1981-82 and the songs she sang then, and sang later for recording purposes. Sadly, Lucy passed away in 2024. Her legacy lives on in the ceremonial knowledge she has shared in this book
Myfany Turpin is a musicologist, linguist and associate professor at The University of Sydney where she conducts fieldwork on languages and songs of Central Australia. She has published extensively on Aboriginal song-poetry and publishes in the fields of music, linguistics and ethnobiology. She is the co-author of Yaru! Gudjal learner's guide and dictionary (Aboriginal Studies Press 2023).
]]>Tarenootairer (c.180658) was still a child when a band of white sealers bound her and forced her onto a boat. From there unfolded a life of immense cruelty inflicted by her colonial captors. As with so many Indigenous women of her time, even today the historical record of her life remains a scant thread embroidered with half-truths and pro-colonial propaganda.
But Joel Stephen Birnie grew up hearing the true stories about Tarenootairer, his earliest known ancestral grandmother, and he was keen to tell his family's history without the colonial lens. Tarenootairer had a fierce determination to survive that had a profound effect on the course of Tasmanian history. Her daughters, Mary Ann Arthur (c.182071) and Fanny Cochrane Smith (c.18321905), shared her activism: Mary Ann's fight for autonomy influenced contemporary Indigenous politics, while Fanny famously challenged the false declaration of Indigenous Tasmanian extinction.
Together, these three extraordinary women fought for the Indigenous communities they founded and sparked a tradition of social justice that continues in Birnie's family today.
From the early Bass Strait sealing industries to George Augustus Robinson's 'conciliation' missions, to Aboriginal internment on Finders Island and at Oyster Cove, My People's Songs is both a constellation of the damage wrought by colonisation and a testament to the power of family. Revelatory, intimate and illuminating, it does more than assert these women's place in our nation's story it restores to them a voice and a cultural context.
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