Amberley Publishing
Established in 2008,AmberleyPublishingis home of the ever-popular colour local history series Through Time, Amberleyis an independent publisher of books on a rich variety of history and heritage.
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Amber Books Ltd.
We are an independent illustrated non-fiction publisher based in London, UK and have been in the industry for over 30 years. We publish a growing range of titles under our own Amber Books imprint.
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Promoted Content
November 2007Living with Ambiguity
Integrating an African Elite in French and Portuguese Africa, 1930–61
by Keese, Alexander
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Humanities & Social SciencesMay 2024The anthropology of ambiguity
Theory, praxis and critique
by Mahnaz Alimardanian, Timothy Heffernan
This volume puts ambiguity and its generative power at the centre of analytical attention. Rather than being cast negatively as a source of confusion, bewilderment or as a dangerous portent, ambiguity is held as the source of the dynamic between knowledge and experience and of certainty amid uncertainty. It positions human life between the realms of mystery and mastery where ambiguity is understood as the experience and expression of life and part of navigating the human condition. In turn, the tension between the tradition in anthropology of examining cultural certitudes through ethnographic description and efforts to challenge dominant expressions of incertitude are explored. Each chapter presents ethnographic accounts of how people engage individually and collectively with the self, the other, human-made institutions and the more-than-human to navigate ambiguity in a world affected by viral contagion, climate change, economic instability, labour precarity and (geo)political tension.
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Sport & leisure industriesFebruary 2008Journeys of Discovery in Volunteer Tourism
International Case Study Perspectives
by Kevin D Lyons, Stephen Wearing
The fast-growing phenomenon of volunteer tourism encompasses a diverse range of activities, from conserving environments to working with host communities to alleviate poverty. However, understanding the complex relationship between volunteering and tourism requires a wide analytical framework. This book provides a broad and valuable insight into how volunteer tourism is growing and developing. Theoretical and empirical case studies from leading researchers in the field explore the experiences of the volunteer tourist and the power relationships between volunteers and host communities and commercial, non-commercial and government entities involved in developing and supporting volunteer tourism. The ambiguous and contested intersections between volunteering, travel and alternative tourism as a foundation for considering the future of volunteer tourism are also examined.
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Literature & Literary StudiesSeptember 2016Tristana by Benito Pérez Galdós
by Catherine Davies, Pablo Valdivia
Tristana is a novel where love, hate and power converge into a triangle of domination and frustration.Galdós', following the ideas of the Free Teaching Institution, intervened in the arena of the debate around the emancipation of women and their incorporation into the public sphere. Tristana, a young woman subjected to the rule of the tyrannical Don Lope, idealistically tries to find her purpose on life but she ends trapped by the rules of a world dominated by men who only see her as the object of their desire. Written in an experimental manner that defies the boundaries of theatre, epistolary and novel genres, Galdós' displays the purest nature of his characters by presenting their contradictions, weaknesses and virtues. He uses a deliberately ambiguous style that seeks to address fundamental questions regarding the unbalances of a Madrid in times of turbulence, but leaves the reader to draw their own meaning. ;
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Literature & Literary StudiesAugust 2016Tristana
by Benito Pérez Galdós
by Catherine Davies, Pablo Valdivia
Tristana is a novel where love, hate and power converge into a triangle of domination and frustration.Galdós', following the ideas of the Free Teaching Institution, intervened in the arena of the debate around the emancipation of women and their incorporation into the public sphere. Tristana, a young woman subjected to the rule of the tyrannical Don Lope, idealistically tries to find her purpose on life but she ends trapped by the rules of a world dominated by men who only see her as the object of their desire. Written in an experimental manner that defies the boundaries of theatre, epistolary and novel genres, Galdós' displays the purest nature of his characters by presenting their contradictions, weaknesses and virtues. He uses a deliberately ambiguous style that seeks to address fundamental questions regarding the unbalances of a Madrid in times of turbulence, but leaves the reader to draw their own meaning.
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Social & cultural historyOctober 2000Women's leisure in England 1920–60
by Claire Langhame
This insightful book offers a timely assessment of the complex relationship between women and leisure in England, drawing upon recent feminist theory. Departing from approaches which focus on particular activities or institutions, it places everyday experiences at its centre, presenting a wide-ranging and lively account of changing perceptions, representations and experiences of leisure across the period 1920-60. It addresses the nature of leisure within women's lives, examining shifting understandings of the concept and identifying areas of definitional ambiguity such as the 'family' holiday, shopping and handicrafts. Focusing upon experiences of leisure across the life cycle, it provides a detailed assessment of the particular forms of leisure enjoyed by women at distinct stages of their lives, including cinema-going, dancing, socialising and home-based pursuits. The book demonstrates that experiences and perceptions of leisure were fundamentally structured along life cycle lines: leisure in youth was often characterised by freedom and independence whilst leisure in adulthood became a vehicle for service and duty to others.
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The ArtsNovember 2007So exotic, so homemade
Surrealism, Englishness and documentary photography
by Ian Walker, John Taylor
In his previous book City Gorged with Dreams (2002), Ian Walker challenged established ideas about Surrealist photography by emphasising the key role played by documentary photographs in Parisian Surrealism. Now Walker turns his attention to the arrival of Surrealism in England in 1936. Examining for the first time the surprising relationship between Surrealism and English documentary photography and film, the book shows that some of the most interesting work of the period was made in the ambiguous spaces between them. One of the key themes in this book is the relationship between the 'homely' and the 'exotic', in the innovative mix of poetry and ethnography in Mass-Observation for example, or the shadowed England constructed in the work of Bill Brandt. Based on extensive archival research, interviews and visits to sites where the photographs were made, this book is rich in detailed analysis yet written in an accessible and often witty style. ;
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Literature & Literary StudiesNovember 2015El castigo sin venganza
Lope de Vega Carpio
by Jonathan Thacker, Catherine Davies, Jonathan Thacker
El castigo sin venganza (1631) is Lope de Vega's greatest tragedy. The play dramatises the story of the adulterous relationship between the beautiful Casandra, Duchess of Ferrara, and her step-son, Federico, and the reaction of her husband, the Duke, himself a flawed and ambiguous figure. The dramatist, at the height of his powers, re-works an earlier Italian short story to explore the complexities of human desire and the grim consequences of giving in to temptation. Aimed principally at undergraduates who are new to Spanish Golden Age drama, this edition includes a substantial commentary on the text, explanatory footnotes and a selected vocabulary. The introduction sets the play in its contexts - historical and dramatic - and focuses too on elements of the genre with which new readers might be unfamiliar: performance norms, the poetry of the play and the linguistic differences in Golden Age Spanish. It is informed by up-to-date scholarship on the play from Spain and the Anglophone world. ;
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Colonialism & imperialismAugust 2004Religion Versus Empire?
British Protestant missionaries and overseas expansion, 1700–1914
by Andrew Porter
This is the only book that addresses the relations between religion, Protestant missions, and empire building, linking together all three fields of studyby taking as its starting point the early eighteenth century Anglican initiatives in colonial North America and the Caribbean. It considers how the early societies of the 1790s built on this inheritance, and extended their own interests to the Pacific, India, the Far East, and Africa. Fluctuations in the vigour and commitment of the missions, changing missionary theologies, and the emergence of alternative missionary strategies, are all examined for their impact on imperial expansion. Other themes include the international character of the missionary movement, Christianity's encounter with Islam, and major figures such as David Livingstone, the state and politics, and humanitarianism, all of which are viewed in a fresh light. This monumental study shows that the missionary movement had a far more complex and ambiguous relationship with the Empire than has previously been thought, and will be widely welcomed by students and scholars of imperial history and the history of religion.
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June 1995Orientalism
History, Theory and the Arts
by John M. MacKenzie
The Orientalism debate, inspired by the work of Edward Said, has been a major source of cross-disciplinary controversy in recent years. John MacKenzie offers a comprehensive re-evaluation of this vast literature of Orientalism and brings to the subject highly original historical perspectives. The study provides the first major discussion of Orientalism by a historian of imperialism. Setting the analysis within the context of conflicting scholarly interpretations, John MacKenzie then carries the discussion into wholly new areas, testing the notion that the western arts received genuine inspiration from the East by examining the visual arts, architecture, design, music and theatre. John MacKenzie concludes that western approaches to the Orient have been much more ambiguous and genuinely interactive then Said allowed. The artistic construction of the East by the West has invariably been achieved through a greater spirit of respect and in search of a truly syncretic culture. The Orient has indeed proved an inspiration to the European arts, even when caught in the web of imperial power relations.
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Humanities & Social SciencesJune 2004Working towards the Führer
Essays in honour of Sir Ian Kershaw
by Anthony McElligott, Tim Kirk
Working towards the Führer brings together leading historians writing on the Third Reich, in honour of Sir Ian Kershaw, whose own work, along with that of the contributors to this volume has done much to challenge and change our understanding of the way Nazi Germany functioned. Covering issues such as the legacy of the world wars, the female voter, propaganda, occupied lands, the judiciary, public opinion and resistance, this volume furthers the debate on how Nazi Germany operated. Gone are the post-war stereotypes of a monolithic state driven forward by a single will towards war and genocide. Instead there is a more complex picture of the regime and its actions, one that shows the instability of the dictatorship, its dependence on a measure of consent as well as coercion, which recognises the constraints on political action, the fickleness of popular attitudes and the ambiguous, ephemeral nature of acclamation and opposition alike. This is a remarkable collection of essays by leading historians in the field that will undoubtedly be welcomed by students and lecturers of German History. ;
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Literature & Literary StudiesSeptember 2008Epicene, or The Silent Woman
by Ben Jonson
by Richard Dutton
Epicene is now one of the most widely-studied of Johnson's plays. Brilliantly exploiting the Jacobean convention whereby boys played female roles, it satirises the newly fashionable and sexually ambiguous world of the West End of London, where courtly wit rubs shoulders with commercial values. This authoritative new edition, now in paperback, is based on a thorough re-examination of the earliest texts. The introduction analyses the play as originally written for the newly formed Children of the Queen's Revels, and performed at the little-known Whitefriars Theatre. Dutton discusses the composition of the play, which took place during a critical period in Jonson's life and career, when he was established as the principal writer of entertainments at the court. His relationships at this time, with ambitious wits such as John Donne, Sir Edward Herbert and the actor Nathan Field, are examined as models for the principal characters. This challengingly historicised text of Epicene will be essential reading for all serious students of early modern drama. ;
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Humanities & Social SciencesApril 2005The holocaust
Critical historical approaches
by Donald Bloxham, Tony Kushner
Despite the massive literature on the Holocaust, our understanding of it has traditionally been influenced by rather unsophisticated early perspectives and silences. This book summarises and criticises the existing scholarship on the subject and suggests new ways by which we can approach its study. It addresses the use of victim testimony and asks important questions: What function does recording the past serve for the victim? What do historians want from it? Are these two perspectives incompatible? The perpetrators of the Holocaust and the development of the murder process are closely examined. The book also compares the mentalities of the killers and the contexts of the killing with those in other acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the first half of the twentieth century, searching for an explanation within these comparisons. In addition, it looks at the bystanders to the Holocaust - considering the complexity and ambiguity at the heart of contemporary responses, especially within the western liberal democracies. Ultimately, this text highlights the essential need to place the Holocaust in the broadest possible context, emphasising the importance of producing high quality but sensitive scholarship in its study. ;
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The Motherland Saga Vol I
VOLUME ONE, LEGACY: 1897 – 1917
by Hugo N.Gerstl
Today, Turkey stands at the center of the world, as it has for millennia. Yet, once again, its position as an international power is ambiguous. It straddles the Occident and the Orient, yet it is neither comfortable with or trusted by either East or West. Beneath its glittering exterior, Turkey is a dormant volcano, ready to explode again, as it has done so many times throughout history. In LEGACY, we meet Turhan Türkoğlu and Abbas Hükümdar, victims of unspeakable poverty and cruelty, each of whom will walk entirely different paths in life. We come face to face with Halide Orhan, one of the greatest heroines of modern literature. In this volume, we witness the death throes of a decaying superpower, the Ottoman Empire, and the beginning of the modern era, marked by the horrors of World War I. Each of these three characters leave their indelible imprint on their Motherland. Published By Pangæa Publishing Group, 2019. 274 pages – 23 cm x 15 cm
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The ArtsJanuary 2019Leos Carax
by Fergus Daly, Garin Dowd
The first book in any language to study the films of this enfant terrible of contemporary French cinema, best known for his film Les Amants du Pont Neuf. Examines key ingredients in the worlds of Carax's films - Paris, pop music, 'flânerie' and 'amour fou', 'mannerist' and 'neo-baroque' aesthetics, the Nouvelle Vague and contemporary 'naturalist' cinema - making the book a good primer of contemporary French film and culture. Draws on a variety of intellectual sources, such as the philosophy of Deleuze, film criticism, theory of art, and literary monographs. Argues that the recent history of maverick mannerist and baroque auteurs, from Ruiz & Rivette to Garrel and Techine, and their explorations of the 'powers of the false' are key to Carax's cinema. Examines Carax's contribution to the strand of cinema which is focused on chance and destiny, from Wong Kar-Wai and David Lynch to films such as Serendipity and Sliding doors.
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November 2023Ganoderma Diseases of Tropical Crops
by Carmel A Pilotti, Paul Dennis Bridge
The fungal genus Ganoderma includes around 80 currently recognized species that are widely distributed in temperate, subtropical and tropical regions, and cause disease in a range of economically important perennial crops and tree-like plants. Ganoderma root and lower stem rots have a significant impact on yields from crops including oil palm, coconut, beverage crops, Acacia and rubber. The identification of species responsible for stem and butt rots is often ambiguous as closely related species may only be distinguished by subtle morphological differences. Within species there can be considerable morphological plasticity and this can make morphology-based identification difficult, particularly for species described from a single specimen. Molecular techniques are helping to slowly resolve Ganoderma taxonomy but it will be some time (if ever) before the taxonomy is fully resolved. This book brings together information on Ganoderma species that are reported to be responsible for crop diseases in tropical and sub-tropical agriculture and covers taxonomy, biology, genetics, aetiology, epidemiology and control. This book is an essential resource for researchers in Ganoderma in crop science and tropical agriculture, as well as practitioners and industry.
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Biography & True StoriesFebruary 2020Andrey Sheptytsky. Biography
by Roman Horak
Fourteen moments of the Passion of Christ, called stations, were recorded by human memory on the way of our salvation on Calvary. Fourteen moments of our humiliation and humiliation of our faith... How many humiliation he suffered, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, who felt like a Kyrenian, who helped us carry our cross, when those who called themselves leaders abandoned us, and when our language was banned. ...And the Lord took pity on us. And as a great manifestation of love for us, He sent Him, who was destined to go with us on His way to Calvary. Let's not forget: he was always a stranger among those for whom he came into this world. His conversion to his ancestors' faith was perceived ambiguously. The book is based on documentary materials, the authenticity of which has been confirmed. It creates the impression of a real epic of time and relationships. In addition to memories of the metropolitan, the testimony of the press, which recorded his every step, denunciations on him, materials of special services, protocols of interrogations, reports of employees and special agents, who have been monitoring Metropolitan Sheptytsky since 1937, were used. For a wide range of readers.
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Literature & Literary StudiesApril 2008El laberinto de la soledad by Octavio Paz
by Catherine Davies, Anthony Stanton
If one had to identify one central, defining text from modern Mexican culture, it would be Octavio Paz´s famous essay, El laberinto de la soledad. This fully annotated edition includes the complete text in Spanish (with the author's final revisions), and notes and additional material in English. The editor's introduction contextualizes the essay and discusses central features: autobiographical and textual origins, intellectual sources, reception and canonization, generic ambiguity, structure, and governing symbols. The intellectual sources identified range from Marx, Nietzsche and Freud to the more contemporary ones of the French College of Sociology (Caillois), the Surrealist movement, the ideas of D. H. Lawrence, previous essays from writers in Mexico (such as Samuel Ramos) and Latin America. Several lines of interpretation are examined to show how the work can be read as a psycho-historical essay, an autobiographical construct or a modern literary myth. Transdisciplinary by nature, this literary essay is both an imaginative construction of personal and national identity, and also a critical deconstruction of dominant stereotypes. It seeks to redefine the complex relationships that exist between psychology, myth, history and Mexican culture. This edition also includes excerpts of the author's opinions on his essay, a time-line of Mexican history, a selected vocabulary, and themes for discussion and debate. Paz's first full-length prose work remains his most well-known and widely read text, and this edition will appeal to sixth-form and university students, teachers, researchers and general readers with a knowledge of Spanish. ;
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Humanities & Social SciencesSeptember 2008National Missile Defence and the politics of US identity
A poststructural critique
by Natalie Bormann
Why adopt a poststructural lens for the reading of the military strategy of national missile defence (NMD)? No doubt, when contemplating an attack on US territory by intercontinental ballistic missiles, consulting Michel Foucault and critical international relations theory scholars may not seem the obvious route to take. The answer to this lies in another question: why has there been so much interest and continuous investment in NMD deployment when there is such ambiguity surrounding the status of threat to which it responds, controversy over its technological feasibility and concern about its cost? Posed in this manner, the question cannot be answered on its own terms - the terms given in official accounts of NMD that justify the system's significance on the basis of strategic feasibility studies and conventional threat predictions guided by worst-case scenarios. Instead, this book argues that the preferences leading to NMD deployment must be understood as satisfying requirements beyond strategic approaches and issues. In turning towards the interpretative modes of inquiry provided by critical social theory and poststructuralism, this book contests the conventional wisdom about NMD and suggests reading the strategy in terms of US identity. Presented as an analysis of discourses on threats to national security, around which the need for NMD deployment is predominantly framed, this book is an effort to let the two fields of critical international relations theory and US foreign policy speak directly to each other. It seeks to do so by showing how the concept of identity can be harnessed to an analysis of a contemporary military-strategic practice. ;
