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      • DESPERATELY SEEKING VAN GOGH

        by Ian Castello-Cortes

        A totally fresh look at the life and career of Van Gogh. The Desperately Seeking treatment is a great way to get a quick sense of the shape of Vincent's extraordinary life, and dispels many of the myths. By any measure he was a bit random. Educated privately by his very respectable parents, he spent time training to be an art dealer, became a teacher in Ramsgate and London when that failed, turned crazily to religion, went and lived as a quasi-preacher in the most depressed part of Belgium, enjoyed a spell at art school in Paris (when his prostitute habit was financed by his long-suffering brother) headed to the south of France – the period of the yellow house and the ear – before spending his final years, when his paintings did begin to be celebrated, in bucolic bliss just north of Paris. He was also probably killed accidentally as a result of a teenager's prank with a revolver – not the suicide which so many specialists have suggested, such is the sentimental view of him. Wonderful Van Gogh art and photos throughout and fascinating maps.

      • November 2020

        The Science of Why, Volume 5

        Answers to Questions About the Ordinary, the Odd, and the Outlandish

        by Jay Ingram

        Have you ever wondered if octopuses are from outer space? What Mexican jumping beans are? Or if banana peels are really slippery?   If questions like these are keeping you up at night, you can rest easy. Bestselling author Jay Ingram is here to answer all the whimsical and whacky wonderings that have baffled people since the dawn of time. From our bodies to our pets (and other beasts) to the natural world around us, Ingram tackles science topics big and small, such as:Did dinosaurs sit on their eggs?What is our funny bone?Is there a specific muscle that makes dogs cute? Because who hasn’t pondered whether plants have feelings? Or if Robin Hood was a real person? Or what humans will look like in the future? Teeming with amusing answers to bemusing questions and handy and hilarious illustrations this latest volume separates fact from fiction, lesson from legend, and myth from marvel. Endlessly illuminating and entertaining, The Science of Why, Volume 5 is five times the fun for new and old readers of the series.

      • October 2020

        Details Are Unprintable

        Wayne Lonergan and the Sensational Cafe Society Murder

        by Allan Levine

        The body of 22-year-old New York City socialite Patricia Burton Lonergan was found in her bedroom. Charged with her death was her husband of two years, Wayne Lonergan. Details Are Unprintable is a suspenseful account that builds from the moment the body was discovered in October 1943 to Lonergan’s conviction in April 1944. The case focused on the tantalizing rumor that Lonergan, a 26-year-old cadet and playboy, was a “homosexual,” who killed his wife in a fit of rage when she removed him from her will.   Part fast-paced drama and part social history, this is a chronicle of Lonergan in denial living in an intolerant world, contrasted with the life of his entitled wife.   What truly happened on that tragic night? Should we accept Lonergan’s confession as the jury did? Or was he a victim of physical and mental abuse by the state prosecutors and the police, as he maintained for the rest of his life?

      • Children's & YA
        September 2020

        The Paper Boat

        A Refugee Story

        by Thao Lam

        New from Thao Lam, the award-winning author of picture books My Cat Looks Like My Dad, Wallpaper, and Skunk on a String, comes a personal story inspired by her family’s refugee journey. In The Paper Boat, Thao’s signature collage art tells the wordless story of one family’s escape from Vietnam—a journey intertwined with an ant colony’s parallel narrative. At her home in Vietnam, a girl rescues ants from the sugar water set out to trap them. Later, when the girl’s family flees war-torn Vietnam, ants lead them through the moonlit jungle to the boat that will take them to safety. Before boarding, the girl folds a paper boat from a bun wrapper and drops it into the water, and the ants climb on. Their perilous journey, besieged by punishing weather, predatory birds, and dehydration, before reaching a new beginning, mirrors the family’s own. Impressionistic collages and a moving, Own Voices narrative make this a one-of-a-kind tale of courage, resilience, and hope.

      • Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers

        C. S. Lewis in Context

        by Doris T. Myers (author)

        Although C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) achieved a level of popularity as a fiction writer, literary scholars have tended to view him as a minor figure working in an insignificant genre-science fiction-or have pigeonholed him as a Christian apologist and moralist. In C. S. Lewis in Context, Doris T. Myers places his work in the literary milieu of his times and the public context of language rather than in the private realm of personal habits or relationships. A central debate early in the 20th century concerned the nature of language: was it primarily objective and empirical, as Charles K. Ogden and Ivor A. Richards argued in The Meaning of Meaning, or essentially metaphorical and impressionistic, the approach of Owen Garfield in Poetic Diction? Lewis espoused the latter theory and integrated it into the purpose and style of his fiction. Myers therefore argues that he was not "out of touch with his time:' as some critics claim, but a 20th-century literary figure engaged in the issues of his day. New readings of many of Lewis's best known works reflect this linguistic approach. For example, Myers analyzes The Pilgrim's Regress (1933) in terms of a distinction between archetypal and individual metaphor to highlight the work's strengths and weaknesses. Instead of interpreting That Hideous Strength (1945) conventionally as a defense of Christianity, she reformulates the debate as that of language the facilitator of rule versus language the instrument of tyranny. She also draws a new parallel between the Chronicles of Narnia and Spenser's Faerie Queen, showing that they are modeled on similar heroic ideals and narrative technique. Out of the Silent Planet (1938), Perelandra (1943), and Till We Have Faces (1956) are discussed in a new light as well. By approaching Lewis's fiction through the linguistic controversies of his day, Myers not only develops a new framework within which to evaluate his works, but also clarifies his literary contributions. This valuable study will appeal to literary and linguistic scholars as well as to general enthusiasts of Lewis's fiction.

      • Trusted Partner
        Fiction

        THE SECRET CALLED ERICH ŠLOMOVIČ

        by SLAVKO PREGL AND LEON POGELŠEK

        THE SECRET IS CALLED ERICH ŠLOMOVIČ (Skrivnost se imenuje Erich Šlomovič) Bata, a Belgrade antique dealer who does not speak any foreign languages, chooses young Leon from Ljubljana as his assistant for deals around Europe. Bata seems to be someone who will introduce the ambitious art student into the society of elite gallerists and high earnings. This promise becomes even more tangible when in an old villa in Zagreb, whilst buying a magnificent Vienna book case, they come across a dusty catalogue of Šlomovič’s exhibition, in which there is a list of French Impressionist paintings, and others from Modigliani to Renoir, from Kandinsky to Picasso, etc. The paintings disappeared one night in 1939 when two trains collided on their way to an exhibition in Belgrade and since then their fate has been shrouded in mystery. Occasionally they appear on the art market or in articles at home and abroad, even a film has been made about them … In Pregl’s novel, however, the story about the “secret of the Šlomovič” collection, full of lies, twists, deceptions, humour, hedonism and eroticism, is for the first time told by a player who created it from within.

      • Individual artists, art monographs
        September 2015

        This is Monet

        by Sara Pappworth, Aude Van Ryn

        Claude Monet is best known as a leader of the Impressionists, his paintings defining the style that triggered a revolution in art. During the eighty-six years of his life, Monet never rested, and was always driven by the urge to paint. And more than two thousand paintings survive from six highly creative decades. Despite being a celebrity among France's political and cultural elite, Monet never became complacent. Even in his seventies and eighties he was still producing paintings that astounded the art world. Monet's work remains highly influential – his abstraction, gestural strokes and expressive colour capturing the imagination of generation after generation of artists.

      • Individual artists, art monographs
        October 2014

        This is Gauguin

        by George Roddam

        Paul Gauguin created some of the most advanced art in a brilliant generation of artists – all of whom struggled against the stifling conformity of the late 19th century's artistic mainstream. He created paintings whose radically simplified lines and colours echoed the unschooled art of the rustic and native cultures he loved. After his famously disastrous stay with Vincent van Gogh in southern France, Gauguin escaped European civilization for the Polynesian islands. Immersing himself in the culture, he produced a series of radiant canvases and powerful sculptures – his last great works. From his childhood in Peru to his experiences in Tahiti, the story of Gauguin's life is recounted in authoritative text by an expert on the Post-Impressionists and compelling imagery by an award-winning illustrator.

      • Individual artists, art monographs
        April 2015

        This is Matisse

        by Catherine Ingram, Agnès Decourchelle

        In the history of twentieth century modernism, Henri Matisse is a calm and unstoppable revolution of creative genius. Trained originally in the French classical manner, he was inspired by the Impressionists and Cézanne to create in a style that brought out the beauty of colour, form and line by reducing them to their essentials. While considered a leader of the Fauves and an inspiration to most of the great figures in modern art, he wasn't interested in being associated with any school or trend. A family man who worked 'office hours' in his studio, he defies the image of the artist as enfant terrible or tortured soul. In a career spanning six decades, he produced masterpiece after masterpiece that constantly challenge how we perceive colour and form.

      • June 2022

        Light in Art

        Perception and the Use of Light in the History of Art

        by Massimo Mariani

        Brimming with illustrations, this stunningly original book, presents the role of light in art throughout history. This richly illustrated book takes readers on a tour through the, history of art to learn how artists have used light (and its lack, of it as shadow) to make a statement about their subject matter, or create a specific mood, with examples by masters such as, Giotto, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Vermeer, Courbet, Turner, Klimt, and many more. It also includes theoretical approaches starting, with Plato and Aristotle, moving on to Descartes, Newton, Goethe and Chevreul. Throughout history, artists have played, with light, approaching it as both a subject and tool to create, the desired atmosphere, convey ideas, and inspire emotions, in the viewer. In medieval frescoes, rays of light stood for the, presence of the divine, while 17th-century Dutch painters used, light to indicate depth and construct an impactful setting. The, Impressionists wanted to depict light itself and the way it plays, upon the surfaces of objects in the form of colour. Photography, and film have used light, both natural and artificial, to make, things visible in the first place. This volume delves into these, and many more topics and constitutes a perfect reference book, for artists, students, scholars, and art lover.

      • History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -
        January 2017

        Hungarian Art

        Confrontation and Revival in the Modern Movement

        by Éva Forgács

        “I was unable to put down [this book]; one that will be used by those interested in the field for a long time to come.”– Dr. Oliver Botar, Hungarian Cultural Studies   Insightful essays, monographic texts, and rarely-seen images trace from birth to maturation several generations of Hungarian Modernism, from the avant-garde to neo-avant-garde. Éva Forgács corrects long-standing misconceptions about Hungarian art while examining the work and social milieu of dozens of important Hungarian artists. The book also paints a fascinating image of twentieth-century Budapest as a microcosm of the social and political turmoil raging across Europe up to and beyond the collapse of the Soviet Era.

      • Art: general interest (Children's/YA)
        April 2021

        A Day at the Gallery

        by Nia Gould

        The mice are captivated by Matisse and the cats are exploring the Surrealists’ room ... what else is going on in the gallery? This quirky and creative search-and-find book takes children, room by room, through a wonderfully illustrated gallery, where an array of animals are enjoying everything from Impressionism and Surrealism to Pop Art and Cubism. Each room is filled with strange and astonishing works of art, with things for children to spot and information that introduces artists and art movements

      • The Arts
        April 2019

        The Art of Feminism

        Images that shaped the Fight for Equality

        by Helena Reckitt, Consultant Editor, Authors Lucinda Gosling, Hilary Robinson, and Amy Tobin

        Curated and written by leading authorities on art and art history, The Art of Feminism is a comprehensive survey of the ways in which feminists have shaped art and visual culture from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Featuring more than 350 works of art, illustration, photography, performance, graphic design and public protest, this stunning volume showcases the vibrancy and daring of the feminist aesthetics over the last 150 years. The book has helped redefine the very canon of art history - a landmark publication. https://shop.tate.org.uk/the-art-of-feminism-images-that-shaped-the-fight-for-equality/22015.html

      • The Arts

        Thames & Hudson Australia

        by Books From Australia

        Thames & Hudson Australia is the fastest growing publisher of illustrated books in Australia. Our list is small but perfectly formed. We publish 40 titles each year into subject areas including the arts, architecture, interiors, design, photography, environment, gardening, food and drink and children’s books. Our books push design boundaries, challenge current thinking and offer new interpretations; they help put words, thoughts and images to the world around us. Whether an illustrated book, children’s books or narrative nonfiction, each title reflects the first-class editorial, design and production qualities synonymous with the Thames & Hudson tradition.

      • Humanities & Social Sciences
        July 2016

        Duel in European History

        Honour and the Reign of Aristocracy

        by Victor Kiernan

        A fascinating history of the cultural and political impact of duelling. For centuries, duelling played an integral role in the preservation of the aristocratic order in Europe, defying attempts by both church and state to ban the practice. Moreover, the romance and drama of the duel has made it an enduring fixture in films, literature, and the theatre. In The Duel in European History, renowned historian Victor Kiernan writes with his characteristic wit and insight of duelling's evolution from its medieval origins – when it was regarded as a badge of rank - to the early twentieth century, by which time it was seen as an irrational anachronism. In doing so, he shows how the duelling tradition was something unique to Europe and its colonies, and, in its contribution to the development of the officer corps, played a key part in shaping European military power. Drawing on a vast range of historical and cultural sources, this is the definitive account of a violent ritual that continues to fascinate even today.

      • Biography & True Stories
        October 2020

        JOAN BAEZ

        The Last Leaf

        by Elizabeth Thomson

        Since she stepped onstage unannounced at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival, Joan Baez has occupied a singular place in popular music. Within three years, she had recorded three best-selling albums and had embarked on a tour of southern US campuses, playing to integrated audiences in an era of segregation. When Time magazine chronicled the folk revival in November 1962, her portrait was on the cover. Her voice was “as lustrous and rich as old gold.” She has mentored generations of singer-songwriters, most famously Bob Dylan. But Joan Baez has always been much more than simply a singer. Even before she joined Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. on the podium at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963, she had used her gift to bring solace and hope to people who had little of either. In words and deeds, Baez has consistently championed social justice, nonviolence the guiding principle of her life, and the causes for which she has campaigned are legion. Whether playing to integrated audiences in the American south during the years of segregation, in Latin America during the years of brutal dictatorships, or Sarajevo under siege, Baez offered “an act of love, sharing, witness and music”. Approaching 80, she has stepped down from the stage following a worldwide farewell tour and a final, Grammy-nominated album. She is now embarked on a new chapter of life—painting.Drawing on interviews with long-time friends and musical associates, and on conversations across four decades with Baez herself, Joan Baez: The Last Leaf is a celebration of a timeless figure whose music and influence will endure long after her voice is silenced. The Discography is by Grammy-nominated music historian Arthur Levy. "I don t think it is an exaggeration to say that this is a book destined to become the definitive word on the life and times of Joan Baez; put it on your list of this year's essential reads."Americana UK Author Elizabeth Thomson has written articles and interviews in newspapers and magazines around the world, including The Times and MOJO. A contributor to The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians, Thomson is also the editor of Conclusions on the Wall: New Essays on Bob Dylan and the co-editor of The Dylan Companion.

      • Literature & Literary Studies

        Life as a Literary Device

        Writer’s Manual of Survival

        by Vitali Vitaliev

        “We're both interested in the history of the 20th century, but he's lived it, and I've been a spectator.” Clive James -- 31 January 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of Vitali Vitaliev’s defection from the Soviet Union to the West. In Life as a Literary Device Vitaliev offers readers not only a glimpse into how literature has affected his life, but also a survival manual for the Western world, a way of life much removed from that lived in the USSR. At once a highly entertaining account of a life that has encompassed roles as diverse as “Clive James’ Moscow man” to researcher and writer for QI and many newspapers, Life as a Literary Device is also a serious treatise on the power of literature. The 20th anniversary of Vitaliev’s defection highlights his profound insight into the differences of life in the West and in the Soviet Union (indeed, Vitali claims that life in the West is in many ways harsher than life under the Soviet regime) and also offers a personal lens through which to view the USSR and its eventual collapse in 1991. Life As A Literary Device is both a summation and a new beginning for Vitaliev – an analysis of how literature has helped him to survive in the modern, and Western, world.From the author: “Life as a Literary Device has neither beginning nor end; nor does it fit in with any existing literary genre: partly a memoir, partly a novel, partly a meditation, partly a poem, partly a diary, partly a dream, partly a survival kit, partly one extended metaphor…” for writer's life, i.e. indeed a 'literary device'. I keep looking back at my life: at the places I visited, the pieces I wrote and the people I met. Memory is like a scrap book – a cut-andpaste job.”

      • The eagle’s flight

        by Patrizia Masci

        Paul, an english man, lives and works in New York as a journalist at the British Consulate. He shouldn’t complain, but his enthusiasm, joy and will to live seem to be disappearing. Valentina, lives and works in Rome as a translator for a publishing house. Young and dynamic, she’s dragging out a by now tired love story. An exciting adventure will make the two meet, jeopardizing Valentina’s life. In the end, this crazy adventure will prove to be a great unexpected gift Suddenly, all the thinking, the doubts… will vanish, buried in a simple word that will finally make sense: love. A romantic love story and a captivating crime novel.

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