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Showing 63441 - 63460 of 63926 items
By John Beasant. 2002
Oman is one of the world’s most secretive countries,ruled with absolute authority by the Sultan. All information is strictly controlled…
by the State: British Prime Minister Edward Heath once said that the story of the 1970 Palace Coup and the events that followed would ‘not be told in our lifetime’. Following ten years’ residency in the country a senior member of Sultan Qaboos's Family suggested that John Beasant write a political history of Oman that would to some extent rehabilitate the maligned name of former Sultan Said, who was deposed in the 1970 Coup.In 'Oman' Beasant catalogues a nature of exploitation woven through all manner of political and commercial interests and casts light on the dark practices so often involved in the sale of arms to Middle Eastern states and illustrates the political use to which the sale of ‘black gold’ - oil - can be put. Oman is a parable of our times, detailing rivalry and intrigue between people in high places. It is one of the most dramatic tales in Arab history: a chronicle of personal price, rapacious greed and undiluted lust for power.By Louis De Bernieres. 2016
Of Love and Desire is a rich collection of love poems from Louis de Bernières, written over a lifetime, and…
capturing its many forms – from rapture, infatuation, urgency, to sorrow, heartache and disillusion. Poetry was de Bernières’ first and greatest literary love, a passion evident in the musicality and emotion of his poems, which are full of stories and the truth of lived experience. This, his second collection, bears the mark of many influences, from the classical Persian poets, to Neruda, to Quintus Smyrnaeus, to Brian Patten.Beautifully illustrated by Donald Sammut, this is an indispensable companion on the lover’s journey.By Homer. 1946
'The Odyssey is a poem of extraordinary pleasures: it is a salt-caked, storm-tossed, wine-dark treasury of tales, of many twists…
and turns, like life itself' GuardianThe epic tale of Odysseus and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War forms one of the earliest and greatest works of Western literature. Confronted by natural and supernatural threats - ship-wrecks, battles, monsters and the implacable enmity of the sea-god Poseidon - Odysseus must use his bravery and cunning to reach his homeland and overcome the obstacles that, even there, await him. E. V. Rieu's translation of The Odyssey was the very first Penguin Classic to be published, and has itself achieved classic status. Translated by E. V. RIEU Revised translation by D. C. H. RIEU With an Introduction by PETER JONESBy Cecil Bowra. 1969
'What Pindar catches is the joy beyond ordinary emotions as it transcends and transforms them' - C. M. BowraArguably the…
greatest Greek lyric poet, Pindar (518-438 B. C.) was a controversial figure in fifth-century Greece - a conservative Boiotian aristocrat who studied in Athens and a writer on physical prowess whose interest in the Games was largely philosophical. Pindar's Epinician Odes - choral songs extolling victories in the Games at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea and Korinth - cover the whole spectrum of the Greek moral order, from earthly competition to fate and mythology. But in C. M. Bowra's clear translation his one central image stands out - the successful athlete transformed and transfigured by the power of the gods.Translated with an introduction by C. M. Bowra.By Gyles Brandreth. 2021
The compelling, witty and remarkably honest autobiography from beloved star of Just a Minute, QI, Have I Got News For…
You and Celebrity GoggleboxTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Hilarious, ribald, eye-popping, unforgettable, will make you laugh out loud' DAILY MAIL'Warm, witty, charming. A moving and very affectionate family history. An enthusiast for life' THE TIMES________Enter the world of Gyles Brandreth - broadcaster, actor, writer, former politician - as he takes us on an extraordinary journey into his past.From growing up in an apparently well-to-do but strapped-for-cash middle-class English family to his adventures in swinging London, Gyles encounters princes, presidents, pop stars and prime ministers, gets involved in everything from setting up Scrabble championships to examining Danish sex shops, and thrills us with countless tales of family, friends and acquaintances, both famous and infamous.Filled with incredible and sometimes shocking stories, Odd Boy Out is the story of Gyles Brandreth's fascinating life told with his unique wit and charm.________'Staggeringly brilliant, funny and touching, I loved it' JOANNA LUMLEY 'Light-hearted and dark events alike are described with his customary jaunty style, making them funny, moving an sometimes deeply shocking ' Sheila HancockBy Lewis Carroll. 2016
'I cried, "Come, tell me how you live!"And thumped him on the head.'Conjuring wily walruses, dancing lobsters, a Jabberwock and…
a Bandersnatch, Carroll's fantastical verse gave new words to the English language.By Elaine C Smith. 2010
'How did I end up here?' A question Elaine C. Smith asked herself when sitting in the dressing-room of a…
top theatre in London's West End, about to go on stage with one of the UK's most successful plays.In Nothing Like a Dame, Elaine reflects on a 50-year journey that took her to the peak of the entertainment world. She recounts her long struggle to make it in a male-dominated, working-class society when women were supposed to just shut up and stay thin, especially in the sexist world of theatre and television, where she was told, 'Look, women just aren't funny.'Despite many highs and lows, she proceeded to forge a stellar career in show business, hosting her own TV series and becoming a household name thanks to her comic portrayal of Mary Nesbitt, the long-suffering wife in the award-winning BBC comedy Rab C. Nesbitt.Nothing Like a Dame is a heart-warming memoir: candid, outspoken, hilarious and at times deeply sad.By James May. 2007
Top Gear presenter and columnist for the Daily Telegraph James May brings together another brilliant collection of his most controversial…
and humorous writing. From tales of motoring adventures through India, Russia and Iceland, to classic articles on essential subjects such as driving songs and haunted car parks, these gems from the number one car connoisseur will take readers on a motoring journey that will amuse and entertain in equal measure.By Sefton Samuels. 2011
The word 'northern' conjures plenty of stereotypical images; men in flat caps, cobbled streets, pies and rain. But beyond the…
clichés lies a region rich in its diversity, devilish in its humour and fertile in its culture, and it is these characteristics that iconic photographer Sefton Samuels has captured faithfully over four decades, and are compiled here in Northerners.Described by the Guardian as 'the photographic equivalent of Ken Loach', Samuels shot legendary figures of northern life, from Alan Bennett to Morrissey, LS Lowry to George Best and Sir Ben Kingsley, but most famously and vividly he captured the realities of everyday life across the north. With snatched shots of children cheekily mugging to his camera, pictures of the more grandiose members of society at the local hunt, photos of the bleaker side of life with the riots in Moss Side, and snaps of the young and fashionable posing as they hang around with nothing to do, Northerners reveals a photographer at one with his subject; and a region whose open character was meant to be captured through a lens.By Elaine Constantine, Gareth Sweeney. 2013
The story of Northern Soul is one of practically total immersion, dedication and devotion, where the plain concept of the…
‘night out’ was elevated to sacramental dimensions. Where devotees pushed their bodies, their finances and sometimes their minds to brutal and unforgiving extremes. For those who went through that involvement every test of faith or endurance was worth bearing.- From Northern Soul: An Illustrated History.‘It was a drugs scene, it was a clothes scene. It was about dancing. It came out of this thing. It was about pills that made you go fast. To go fast to make the scene happen.’ - Chris BrickIn the late 1960s, a form of dance music took a feverish hold on the UK, finding its heart in the north of England. The music of 1960s-70s black American soul singers combined with distinctive dance styles and plenty of amphetamines to create what became known as Northern Soul – a scene based around all night, alcohol-free club nights, arranged by the fans themselves – setting the blueprint for future club culture. Northern Soul tapped into a yearning for individual expression in northern teenagers, and exploded into a cultural phenomenon that influenced a generation of DJs, songwriters and designers for decades to come. Acclaimed photographer and director Elaine Constantine has brought the movement to life in her film Northern Soul – and that film was the starting point for this book, Northern Soul: An Illustrated History.However, what started out as a project largely comprising of Constantine’s stunning on-set photography, featuring her young, talented cast and highly authentic production, has turned into a unique illustrated history of Northern Soul. In its final form, the beautiful new photography holds the book together thematically, but its real depth lies in the material from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s that Elaine and Gareth have researched and pulled together. Of course, no book can claim to represent everything about a culture. But Northern Soul: An Illustrated History concentrates on individuals’ personal stories from that heady era, as well as being crammed full of truly atmospheric contemporaneous photography – not from press photographers, but from the kids themselves. Be it snaps of soul fans in car parks, hitching a lift or mucking around in photo booths, the combination of real people plus real (and often very dramatic) stories – not to mention the complete absence of label scans and DJ’s top tens – means that the book stands out as a very different proposition from anything yet published on Northern Soul. We would like to think that above all, this book attempts to give you a feel for what it was really like to be there at the time.By John Burnside. 2011
From memories of childhood and personal loss to the quiet celebration of a lover's navigational skills, from meditations on nature…
and sexuality to the fantasy world of aquarium fish, the poems in A NORMAL SKIN cover a wide range: lyrical in tone, and highly visual, they express once again the poet's sense of wonder at the world, while exploring some new preoccupations, including love and identity the tension between masking and self-revelation, and the writer's pleasure at returning to Scotland after a long absense. Most significant, however, is the continuing exploration of the relationship between self and other, and of the constant shifting of territory and boundaries, seen through the prism of love and home.By Helen Mort. 2016
* A Poetry Book Society Recommendation 2016*'When we climb aloneen cordée feminine,we are magicians of the Alps –we make the…
routes we followdisappear'The poems of Helen Mort's second collection offer an unforgettable perspective on the heights we scale and the distances we run, the routes we follow and the paths we make for ourselves.Here are odes to the women who dared to break new ground – from Miss Jemima Morrell, a young Victorian woman from Yorkshire who hiked the Swiss Peaks in her skirts and petticoats, to the modern British mountaineer Alison Hargreaves, who died descending from the summit of K2.Distinctive and courageous, these are poems of passion and precipices, of edges and extremes. No Map Could Show Them confirms Helen Mort’s position as one of the finest young poets at work today.By William Peskett. 1975
William Peskett belongs to the brilliant generation of young poets from Northen Ireland who broke through in the 1970s. The…
intent observation and delicate structure of his poems are unusual. They feel their way into situations with both tact and exactness, and move with equal poise through human relationships and the natural world. William Peskett's work appeared in periodicals and on the radio, and it attracted special attention when a group of poems appeared in Faber's Poetry Introduction 2.The Night Owl's Dissection is his first full-length collection of poetry.By A. Hatto. 1969
Written by an unknown author in the twelfth century, this powerful tale of murder and revenge reaches back to the…
earliest epochs of German antiquity, transforming centuries-old legend into a masterpiece of chivalric drama. Siegfried, a great prince of the Netherlands, wins the hand of the beautiful princess Kriemhild of Burgundy, by aiding her brother Gunther in his struggle to seduce a powerful Icelandic Queen. But the two women quarrel, and Siegfried is ultimately destroyed by those he trusts the most. Comparable in scope to the Iliad, this skilfully crafted work combines the fragments of half-forgotten myths to create one of the greatest epic poems - the principal version of the heroic legends used by Richard Wagner, in The Ring.By William Dampier. 2020
'A roaring tale ... remains as vivid and exciting today as it was on publication in 1697' GuardianThe pirate and…
adventurer William Dampier circumnavigated the globe three times, and took notes wherever he went. This is his frank, vivid account of his buccaneering sea voyages around the world, from the Caribbean to the Pacific and East Indies. Filled with accounts of raids, escapes, wrecks and storms, it also contains precise observations of people, places, animals and food (including the first English accounts of guacamole, mango chutney and chopsticks). A bestseller on publication, this unique record of the colonial age influenced Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels and consequently the whole of English literature.Edited with an Introduction by Nicholas ThomasBy Narjes Abbasabadi, Mehdi Ashayeri. 2024
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN PERFORMANCE-DRIVEN DESIGN A definitive, interdisciplinary reference to using artificial intelligence technology and data-driven methodologies for sustainable design…
Artificial Intelligence in Performance-Driven Design: Theories, Methods, and Tools explores the application of artificial intelligence (AI), specifically machine learning (ML), for performance modeling within the built environment. This work develops the theoretical foundations and methodological frameworks for utilizing AI/ML, with an emphasis on multi-scale modeling encompassing energy flows, environmental quality, and human systems. The book examines relevant practices, case studies, and computational tools that harness AI’s capabilities in modeling frameworks, enhancing the efficiency, accuracy, and integration of physics-based simulation, optimization, and automation processes. Furthermore, it highlights the integration of intelligent systems and digital twins throughout the lifecycle of the built environment, to enhance our understanding and management of these complex environments. This book also: Incorporates emerging technologies into practical ideas to improve performance analysis and sustainable design Presents data-driven methodologies and technologies that integrate into modeling and design platforms Shares valuable insights and tools for developing decarbonization pathways in urban buildings Includes contributions from expert researchers and educators across a range of related fields Artificial Intelligence in Performance-Driven Design is ideal for architects, engineers, planners, and researchers involved in sustainable design and the built environment. It’s also of interest to students of architecture, building science and technology, urban design and planning, environmental engineering, and computer science and engineering.It is assumed that the impact of natural and man-made hazards on society in terms of damage cannot be avoided.…
To reduce potential disaster levels and to assess which policies have had a positive outcome, a careful comparison should take place on the procedures implemented in the management of crises.The experiences with the earthquakes in the Pianura Padana area and central regions of Italy in the last ten years have been incorporated in the 'After the Damages' advanced training project. This project aims to showcase recent innovations and advancements in post-disaster management, so as to take a more proactive role in post-disaster management, and to respond more effectively when disasters occur.This volume provides insights into the dynamics and negative effects of natural and man-made hazards (i.e., earthquakes, fires, floods, droughts, volcanic eruptions, etc.), including more updated approaches to deal with post-disaster phases. The book also offers tools to deal with possible international crisis scenarios and mitigate the social impact of vulnerabilities through risk reduction.Built Heritage in post-Disaster Scenarios aims at public administration managers, government agency representatives, international organizations, researchers, and professionals in architecture, engineering, and earth science.Marcello Balzani, Architect, PhD in "Representation and Survey", Full Professor of Representation at the Department of Architecture, University of Ferrara. President of Clust-ER Building and Construction. He is author of more than 200 publications on the themes of Drawing and Architectural and Urban Surveying, Project Representation, Management and Visualisation.Federica Maietti, Architect, PhD, Associate Professor in the Scientific Sector ICAR/17 at the Department of Architecture, University of Ferrara. Member of the DIAPReM Centre, since 2005 she carries out research activities in the fields of heritage documentation, survey and diagnostic investigations, in different national and international contexts, including Pompeii, Malta, Brazil, India, and Mexico. Scientific Manager of the International Academy "After the Damages", she is involved in several research activities and she is the author of more than two hundred publications in the field of Heritage Documentation, Survey and Representation.Manlio Montuori, Architect, PhD, former assistant professor non-tenured at the University of Ferrara, Department of Architecture, where he is a member of the Labo.R.A. The main field of his research is the conservation of architectural heritage and landscape, with special emphasis on preservation procedures for traditional and industrial built heritage. His research interests also address assessment and management in the context of damage and disaster risk reduction. Scientific Manager of the International Academy "After the Damages", he is involved in several research projects implementing ICT technologies in the conservation and structural health assessment of built and cultural heritage.Fabiana Raco, Architect, PhD RTDa Researcher of Drawing at the Department of Architecture, University of Ferrara. Technical coordinator of TekneHub Laboratory. Author of more than 50 publications on the topics of Drawing, Architectural and Urban Surveying, Representation, Diagnostics, Visualization and Project Management of interventions on built heritage.By Erica Robenalt. 2024
The Queer Museum examines how relationships between institutions and LGBTQ+ communities function and how they help to define queer museum…
practice.Analysing what it means to queer the museum in Western contexts, the book builds upon and challenges texts about inclusionary, activist museum practice and discusses the ways in which Othered communities are engaged with and represented. Arguing that an institution’s understanding of queerness is directly related to the kind, and extent, of change pursued by the museum, the author clarifies that governance structures, staff hierarchies, funding and relationships to queer communities affect the way queering might be pursued. The analysis looks critically at exhibitions and institutions and particularly forefronts the experiences of museum practitioners. It argues that practical changes that positively affect museums’ long-term relationships with marginalised communities are critical. The book also considers the future of the museum by drawing on queer theories of utopia, futurity, failure and amateurism to complicate understandings of the queer museum and its relationship to people and objects.The Queer Museum will be of interest to students and academics in museum and heritage studies, art history and archival studies. It will also be essential reading for museum and arts sector practitioners who seek to do and engage with this kind of work.By Susan Ogilvy. 2021
An exquisitely illustrated, one-of-a-kind celebration of the hidden beauty of nature and the ingenuity of birdsSusan Ogilvy started painting bird…
nests almost by accident. One day, while tidying up her garden after a storm, she found a chaffinch nest - a strange, sodden lump on the grass under a fir tree. She carried it inside and placed it on a newspaper; over the next few hours, as the water drained out of it, the sodden lump blossomed into a mossy jewel. She was amazed, and dropped everything to make a painting of the nest at exact life size.This was the start of an obsession; Ogilvy has since painted more than fifty bird nests from life, each time marvelling at its ingenious construction. Every species of bird has its own vernacular, but sources its materials - most commonly twigs, roots, grasses, reeds, leaves, moss, lichen, hair, feathers and cobwebs, less usually, mattress stuffing and string - according to local availability. Ogilvy would, of course, never disturb nesting birds; instead she relies upon serendipity, which is why all her nests have either been abandoned after fulfilling their purpose, or displaced by strong winds.Although Nests showcases the specimens she has found near her homes in Somerset and on the Isle of Arran, its subject matter is by no means only British, since these same birds can be found all over Europe, Scandinavia and as far afield as Russia, Turkey and North Africa. This wondrous book is all the more special for its rarity. Few modern books exist specifically on the subject of bird nests; the most recent among the author's reference works was published in 1932. Exquisitely designed and packaged, Nests will be an essential addition to the libraries of all nature lovers.By Lucretius. 2007
Lucretius' poem On the Nature of Things combines a scientific and philosophical treatise with some of the greatest poetry ever…
written. With intense moral fervour he demonstrates to humanity that in death there is nothing to fear since the soul is mortal, and the world and everything in it is governed by the mechanical laws of nature and not by gods; and that by believing this men can live in peace of mind and happiness. He bases this on the atomic theory expounded by the Greek philosopher Epicurus, and continues with an examination of sensation, sex, cosmology, meteorology, and geology, all of these subjects made more attractive by the poetry with which he illustrates them.