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The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose (Vintage International)
by Alice Munro&“An exhilarating collection&” (The New York Times Book Review) of ten blended stories from Nobel Prize–winning author Alice Munro &“The rich texture of its narrative and the author&’s graceful style make [The Beggar Maid] a considerable accomplishment.&”—Joyce Carol Oates, Ms. In this vibrant series of interweaving stories, Alice Munro recreates the evolving bond—one that is both constricting and empowering—between two women in the course of almost forty years. One is Flo, practical, suspicious of other people&’s airs, at times dismayingly vulgar. The other is Rose, Flo&’s stepdaughter, a clumsy, shy girl who somehow—in spite of Flo&’s ridicule and ghastly warnings—leaves the small town she grew up in to achieve her own equivocal success in the larger world.
Before You Knew My Name: A Novel
by Jacqueline BublitzWinner of Crime Debut and Readers&’ Choice Awards—Sisters in Crime Editors&’ Choice/Staff Pick by The New York Times Book Review &“A brave and timely novel.&” —Clare Mackintosh, internationally bestselling author of Hostage This is not just another novel about a dead girl. Two women—one alive, one dead—are brought together in the dark underbelly of New York City to solve a tragic murder.When she arrived in New York on her eighteenth birthday carrying nothing but $600 cash and a stolen camera, Alice Lee was looking for a fresh start. Now, just one month later, she is the city&’s latest Jane Doe. She may be dead but that doesn&’t mean her story is over. Meanwhile, Ruby Jones is also trying to reinvent herself. After travelling halfway around the world, she&’s lonelier than ever in the Big Apple. Until she stumbles upon a woman&’s body by the Hudson River, and suddenly finds herself unbreakably tied to the unknown dead woman. Alice is sure Ruby is the key to solving the mystery of her short life and tragic death. Ruby just wants to forget what she saw…but she can&’t seem to stop thinking about the young woman she found. If she keeps looking, can she give this unidentified Jane Doe the ending and closure she deserves? A &“heartbreaking, beautiful, and hugely important novel&” (Rosie Walsh, New York Times bestselling author), Before You Knew My Name doesn&’t just wonder whodunnit—it also asks who was she? And what did she leave behind?
Before You Go: A Novel
by Tommy Butler“Hats off to that brave soul daring to write what might be called speculative literary fiction, and willing to venture answers to questions beyond even those of life & death. Tommy Butler’s debut novel Before You Go has a big beating heart and a mind all its own.” — Joshua Ferris, author of The Dinner Party and Then We Came to the EndA big, rich, life-affirming debut that explores the most perplexing questions of existence: purpose, the pain of loneliness, the desire for happiness, and the price we pay as we search for fulfillment.In the Before, humankind is created with a hole in its heart, the designers not realizing their mistake—if it was a mistake—until too late.Elliot Chance is just a boy, and knows nothing of this. All he knows is that he doesn’t feel at home in this world, and his desire for escape becomes more urgent as he grows into adulthood, where the turbulence of life seems to offer no cure for the emptiness. Desperate and lost, he stumbles upon a support group on the edge of Manhattan. There he meets two other drifting souls—Sasha, a young woman who leaves coded messages in the copy she writes for advertising campaigns, and Bannor, whose detailed depictions of the future make Elliot think he may have actually been there. With these two unlikely allies, Elliot launches into the business of life, determined to be happy in spite of himself.Yet the hole in the heart is not so easily filled.Profound yet playful, Before You Go is a beautiful, imaginative journey into the ache and wonder of being human, and the quest for a meaningful life.
Before Voltaire: The French Origins of “Newtonian” Mechanics, 1680–1715
by J.B. ShankWe have grown accustomed to the idea that scientific theories are embedded in their place and time. But in the case of the development of mathematical physics in eighteenth-century France, the relationship was extremely close. In Before Voltaire, J.B. Shank shows that although the publication of Isaac Newton’s Principia in 1687 exerted strong influence, the development of calculus-based physics is better understood as an outcome that grew from French culture in general. Before Voltaire explores how Newton’s ideas made their way not just through the realm of French science, but into the larger world of society and culture of which Principia was an intertwined part. Shank also details a history of the beginnings of calculus-based mathematical physics that integrates it into the larger intellectual currents in France at the time, including the Battle of the Ancients and the Moderns, the emergence of wider audiences for science, and the role of the newly reorganized Royal Academy of Sciences. The resulting book offers an unprecedented cultural history of one the most important and influential elements of Enlightenment science.
Before the Flood: The Biblical Flood as a Real Event and How It Changed the Course of Civilization
by Ian WilsonIn the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.The great Biblical flood so described in Genesis has long been a subject of fascination and speculation. In the 19th century the English archbishop James Ussher established it as having happened in the year 2348 B.C., calculating what was then taken as the age of the earth and working backward through the entire series of Biblical "begats." Proof of the flood, which is an element of so many creation myths, began in earnest when archaeology started connecting physical evidence with Biblical story. The dream of proving the Bible as literal truth has proven irresistible, producing both spurious claims and serious scholarship.As best-selling historian Ian Wilson reveals in this fascinating new book, evidence of a catastrophic event has been building steadily, culminating in the work of William Ryan and Walter Pitman. Several years ago Ryan and Pitman had posited that around 5600 BC there had an inundation in the Black Sea of such proportions that it turned the freshwater lake into a saltwater lake by connecting it to the Mediterranean. Were that true, they estimated that there would be signs of civilization 300 feet below the surface of the Black Sea. In September 2000, using his famous underwater equipment, Robert Ballard (of SS Titanic fame) explored parts of the Black Sea near the Turkish shore and found the remains of wood houses. There had been a flood, and whether God's wrath or not it had destroyed everything around it for hundreds of miles, killing tens of thousands of people.Exploring all the archeological evidence, Wilson explains how the Black Sea flood and the Biblical flood have to be connected. In particular, Wilson argues, learnedly and persuasively, that the center of the civilized world was further to the West than previously thought-not in Egypt or Mesopotamia but in what is today Northern Turkey. The earliest, antediluvian civilizations may have migrated east into those places we have come to call the cradles of civilization, forced by the Black Sea flood to create new settlements.Scrupulous in its details and compelling in its sweep, Before the Flood is narrative detective history at its most provocative, contributing a vital new chapter to the debate about the Bible and origins of the modern world.
Before the Ever After
by Jacqueline WoodsonFor as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has always been everyone's hero: a pro football superstar, a beloved member of the neighbourhood and a really, really great dad. But there's something not right about ZJ's dad these days. He's having trouble remembering things, seems to be angry all the time and is starting to forget ZJ's name. Bit by bit, ZJ has to face this new reality that his family can't keep holding on to his dad's glory days. As his dad begins to have more bad than good days, will they ever find happiness again? Written in lyrical, emotive poetry, this book is beautiful and accessible - perfect for readers aged 9+.
Before Mickey: The Animated Film 1898–1928
by Donald CraftonThis witty and fascinating study reminds us that there was animation before Disney: about thirty years of creativity and experimentation flourishing in such extraordinary work as Girdie the Dinosaur and Felix the Cat. Before Mickey, the first and only in-depth history of animation from 1898-1928, includes accounts of mechanical ingenuity, marketing and art. Crafton is equally adept at explaining techniques of sketching and camera work, evoking characteristic styles of such pioneering animators as Winsor McCay and Ladislas Starevitch, placing work in its social and economic context, and unraveling the aesthetic impact of specific cartoons. "Before Mickey's scholarship is quite lively and its descriptions are evocative and often funny. The history of animation coexisted with that of live-action film but has never been given as much attention."—Tim Hunter, New York Times
Beethoven in Russia: Music and Politics
by Frederick W. SkinnerHow did Ludwig van Beethoven help overthrow a tsarist regime? With the establishment of the Russian Musical Society and its affiliated branches throughout the empire, Beethoven's music reached substantially larger audiences at a time of increasing political instability. In addition, leading music critics of the regime began hearing Beethoven's dramatic works as nothing less than a call to revolution. Beethoven in Russia deftly explores the interface between music and politics in Russia by examining the reception of Beethoven's works from the late 18th century to the present. In part 1, Frederick W. Skinner's clear and sweeping review examines the role of Beethoven's more dramatic works in the revolutionary struggle that culminated in the Revolution of 1917. In part 2, Skinner reveals how this same power was again harnessed to promote Stalin's campaign of rapid industrialization. The appropriation of Beethoven and his music to serve the interests of the state remained the hallmark of Soviet Beethoven reception until the end of communist rule. With interdisciplinary appeal in the areas of history, music, literature, and political thought, Beethoven in Russia shows how Beethoven's music served as a call to action for citizens and weaponized state propaganda in the great political struggles that shaped modern Russian history.
Beethoven: A Political Artist in Revolutionary Times (Eastman Studies In Music Ser. #172)
by William KindermanWe have long regarded Beethoven as a great composer, but we rarely appreciate that he was also an eminently political artist. This book unveils the role of politics in his oeuvre, elucidating how the inherently political nature of Beethoven’s music explains its power and endurance. William Kinderman presents Beethoven as a civically engaged thinker faced with severe challenges. The composer lived through many tumultuous events—the French Revolution, the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Congress of Vienna among them. Previous studies of Beethoven have emphasized the importance of his personal suffering and inner struggles; Kinderman instead establishes that musical tensions in works such as the Eroica, the Appassionata, and his final piano sonata in C minor reflect Beethoven’s attitudes toward the political turbulence of the era. Written for the 250th anniversary of his birth, Beethoven takes stock of the composer’s legacy, showing how his idealism and zeal for resistance have ensured that masterpieces such as the Ninth Symphony continue to inspire activists around the globe. Kinderman considers how the Fifth Symphony helped galvanize resistance to fascism, how the Sixth has energized the environmental movement, and how Beethoven’s civic engagement continues to inspire in politically perilous times. Uncertain times call for ardent responses, and, as Kinderman convincingly affirms, Beethoven’s music is more relevant today than ever before.
Beethoven: Studies In The Creative Processes
by Lewis LockwoodAn authoritative work offering a fresh look at Beethoven’s life, career, and milieu. “Magisterial” —New York Review of Books. This brilliant portrayal weaves Beethoven's musical and biographical stories into their historical and artistic contexts. Lewis Lockwood sketches the turbulent personal, historical, political, and cultural frameworks in which Beethoven worked and examines their effects on his music. "The result is that rarest of achievements, a profoundly humane work of scholarship that will—or at least should—appeal to specialists and generalists in equal measure" (Terry Teachout, Commentary). Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. "Lewis Lockwood has written a biography of Beethoven in which the hours that Beethoven spent writing music—that is, his methods of working, his interest in contemporary and past composers, the development of his musical intentions and ideals, his inner musical life, in short—have been properly integrated with the external events of his career. The book is invaluable." —Charles Rosen "Lockwood writes with poetry and clarity—a rare combination. I especially enjoyed the connection that he makes between the works of Beethoven and the social and political context of their creation—we feel closer to Beethoven the man without losing our wonder at his genius." —Emanuel Ax "The magnum opus of an illustrious Beethoven scholar. From now on, we will all turn to Lockwood's Beethoven: The Music and the Life for insight and instruction." —Maynard Solomon "This is truly the Beethoven biography for the intelligent reader. Lewis Lockwood speaks in his preface of writing on Beethoven's works at 'a highly accessible descriptive level.' But he goes beyond that. His discussion of the music, based on a deep knowledge of its context and the composition processes behind it, explains, elucidates, and is not afraid to evaluate; while the biographical chapters, clearly and unfussily written, and taking full account of the newest thinking on Beethoven, align closely with the musical discussion. The result is a deeply perceptive book that comes as close as can be to presenting the man and the music as a unity."—Stanley Sadie, editor, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians "Impressive for both its scholarship and its fresh insights, this landmark work—fully accessible to the interested amateur—immediately takes its place among the essential references on this composer and his music."—Bob Goldfarb, KUSC-FM 91.5 "Lockwood writes like an angel: lucid, enthusiastic, stirring and enlightening. Beethoven has found his ablest interpreter."—Jonathan Keates, The Spectator "There is no better survey of Beethoven's compositions for a wide audience."—Michael Kimmelman, The New York Times Book Review
Beer Mania: Legendary Aussie breweries and brands
by Luke WestCricket enthusiasts endlessly debate the question of who are the best Australian players across different eras. In this book, experienced journalist and sports writer Liam Hauser selects his Immortal team from players who didn&’t just dominate, they changed the game with their sheer will. How do you select a team from the Australian Immortals of Cricket? In a sport saturated with statistics and analysis and changes to rules, equipment and playing conditions, and with more than 100 years of traditions and personalities to consider, just how do you make your selection? Who makes the cut and who misses out? It is sure to lead to lively discussions and debate, and certainly controversy. But whether you agree or disagree, cricket followers around the world will find this volume provides a new perspective for the debate and an invaluable insight into the cricketing careers of some of Australia&’s all-time IMMORTALS.
Beer Drinker's Toolkit
by Mick WüstEquip yourself to navigate the world of beer.Light and readable 224-page hardcover book that provides insight into modern beer trends. Entertains and educates on the history of beer, the brewing process, beer styles and glasses. Explores which beer to drink with specific dishes. Learn your craft to appreciate all manner of beer styles with the Beer Drinker's Toolkit. Passionate beer writer Mick Wust hates beer snobs. He doesn't take himself or beer drinking too seriously. Here Mick gives you the tools to navigate the world of beer - without turning you into a tool yourself. Beer Drinker's Toolkit is more like learning from a chat in a pub than sitting through a lecture. It's like going to schoonerversity.
Beer and Circus: How Big-Time College Sports Is Crippling Undergraduate Education
by Murray SperberBeer and Circus presents a no-holds-barred examination of the troubled relationship between college sports and higher education from a leading authority on the subject.Murray Sperber turns common perceptions about big-time college athletics inside out. He shows, for instance, that contrary to popular belief the money coming in to universities from sports programs never makes it to academic departments and rarely even covers the expense of maintaining athletic programs. The bigger and more prominent the sports program, the more money it siphons away from academics.Sperber chronicles the growth of the university system, the development of undergraduate subcultures, and the rising importance of sports. He reveals television's ever more blatant corporate sponsorship conflicts and describes a peculiar phenomenon he calls the "Flutie Factor"--the surge in enrollments that always follows a school's appearance on national television, a response that has little to do with academic concerns. Sperber's profound re-evaluation of college sports comes straight out of today's headlines and opens our eyes to a generation of students caught in a web of greed and corruption, deprived of the education they deserve.Sperber presents a devastating critique, not only of higher education but of national culture and values. Beer and Circus is a must-read for all students and parents, educators and policy makers.
Beekman 1802: Recipes to Nourish Your Family, Friends, and Community
by Josh Kilmer-Purcell Brent Ridge Rose Marie TrapaniFrom the beloved founders of Beekman 1802, more than 115 seasonal recipes for enjoying and sharing with those you loveBeekman 1802: A Seat at the Table is Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell&’s most personal cookbook yet, built on food that became a part of the authors&’ move from New York City to Sharon Springs, New York—population 500. Based on the tradition of food at the center of community, more than 115 recipes embody the traditional story of stone soup, in which everyone brings together their small piece to the pot to create something much greater than its parts. With recipes organized by season and interwoven with menus, bios of the creative individuals who are part of the authors&’ small-town community, and tips and tricks for making the varied dishes, readers will turn to the book again and again to nourish their own communities. Whether roasting a turkey for a November Friendsgiving, pulling out some frozen-in-season Zucchini Blossom Squares for last-minute holiday guests, enjoying fresh pea pesto and crostini for a springtime supper, or quick-pickling a summer garden surplus, there will always be a seat at the table.
The Bedtime Book of Magical Creatures: An Introduction to More than 100 Creatures from Legend and Folklore (The Bedtime Books)
by Stephen KrenskySay hello to more than 100 of your favorite magical creatures with this delightful, illustrated introduction.This is the must-have bedtime book about the world's most fantastical creatures from around the world. Turn each page to find out more about the amazing variety of magical creatures—from fairies and mermaids to dragons and unicorns.With charming illustrations, storybook text, and key terms highlighted on each page, this book is a wonderful and comprehensive introduction to magical creatures. The book showcases beings from land, water, and air, in three comprehensive chapters. Many pages are devoted to a particular creature, with others featuring a collection of similar beings, such as witches and genies, giving bite-sized chunks of accessible information to help early learners get to know more about their favourite creature from myths, legends, and story books. There are also reference pages at the end of the book that give more information on the context and origins of each creature.A timeless gift book, The Bedtime Book of Magical Creatures will be treasured for years to come.
Bedding the Heiress: A Spinster Heiresses Novel (Cameron Sisters #4)
by Cathy MaxwellWhen a loathsome rake steals one of her most cherished family heirlooms—and nearly her virtue as well!—Francesca Dunroy devises the perfect plan to put him in his place. At a ball being held in her honor—she didn't "take" in her first season, now her family is determined to get her a match in her second—she'll offer him a clandestine kiss sure to convince him to return what is rightfully hers. But in the dark hallways surrounding the ballroom, Francesca makes a terrifying mistake. She seduces the wrong man!The recipient of Francesca's caresses is none other than Justin Maddox, London's newly titled duke and most eligible bachelor. A defiant Scotsman who disdains London society, he's sworn to steer clear of the ladies of the ton, but he can't escape the memory of Francesca urgently pressing her lips upon his . . . and neither can she. But when a shocking and dangerous secret from Justin's past resurfaces, the couple will have to risk tattered reputations and treacherous enemies to nurture what has quickly become true love.
Becomings: Pregnancy, Phenomenology, and Postmodern Dance (ISSN)
by Johanna KirkThis book explores postmodern choreographic engagements of pregnant bodies in the US over the last 70 years.Johanna Kirk discusses how choreographers negotiate identification with the look of their pregnant bodies to maintain a sense of integrity as artists and to control representations of their gender and physical abilities while pregnant. Across chapters, the artists discussed include Anna Halprin, Trisha Brown, Twyla Tharp, Sandy Jamrog, Jane Comfort, Jody Oberfelder, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Miguel Gutiérrez, Yanira Castro, Noémie LaFrance, and Meg Foley. By presenting their bodies in performance, these artists demonstrate how their experiences surrounding pregnancy intersect not only with their artform and its history but also with their personal experiences of race, gender, and sexual identification. In these pages, Johanna Kirk argues that choreography offers them tools that are alternative to medicine (or other forms of social representation) for understanding what/how pregnant bodies do and feel and what they can mean for individuals and their communities. The works within these chapters invite readers to see dancing bodies and pregnant bodies in new ways and for their potential to manifest new possibilities.This study will be of great interest to students and scholars exploring dance, theatre and performance, race, and gender.
Becoming the Boogeyman (The Boogeyman)
by Richard ChizmarThe &“worthy and frightening sequel&” (Stephen King) to the acclaimed and &“unforgettable&” (Harlan Coben) New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling novel Chasing the Boogeyman.Back in the summer of 1988, a young Richard Chizmar was catapulted into the center of a living nightmare as the serial killer Joshua Gallagher—dubbed by the media as &“The Boogeyman&”—stalked his tranquil Maryland town. A lot has changed in the intervening years. These days, Chizmar enjoys a certain level of celebrity and notoriety himself, being the only person that an incarcerated Josh Gallagher will speak to on or off the record. Chizmar likes to believe that he&’s doing the world a public service by visiting Gallagher in prison, as there are plenty of other nameless victims out there who Gallagher might finally admit to killing and bring closure to grieving loved ones, and a dark rhythm and routine begin to take hold. But Chizmar eventually finds there&’s a price to be paid for dancing with the devil, when a masked figure with all the hallmarks of Gallagher&’s reign of terror from thirty years ago now leaves a horrifying calling card in front of Chizmar&’s home, and it&’s clear there&’s a new player on the board in the ongoing game that the Boogeyman controls… A riveting, haunting sequel to the New York Times bestselling thriller Chasing the Boogeyman, this is a tale of obsession and the adulation of evil, exploring modern society&’s true crime infatuation with unflinching honesty, sparing no one from the glare of the spotlight. Will those involved walk away from the story of a lifetime in order to keep their loved ones safe? Or will they once again be drawn into a killer&’s web? As the story draws to its shattering conclusion, only one person holds all the answers—and he just may be the most terrifying monster of them all.
Becoming Ted
by Matt CainA charmingly joyful, surprising story about love, acceptance, and self-expression from the acclaimed author of The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle. Fans of the musical &“Kinky Boots&” and Byron Lane&’s Big Gay Wedding will have their hearts stolen by Becoming Ted! If Ted Ainsworth were to compare himself to one of the ice cream flavors made by his family&’s company, famous throughout his sleepy Lancashire hometown, it might be vanilla—sweet, inoffensive, and pleasantly predictable. At forty-three, Ted is convinced there&’s nothing remotely remarkable about him, except perhaps his luck in having landed handsome, charismatic Giles as a husband. Then Giles suddenly leaves him for another man, filling his social media feed with posts about #newlove and adventure. And Ted, who has spent nearly twenty years living with, and often for, another person, must reimagine the future he has happily taken for granted. But perhaps there is another Ted slowly blossoming now that he&’s no longer in Giles&’s shadow—funny, sassy, more uninhibited. Someone willing to take chances on new friendships, and even new love. Someone who&’s been waiting in the wings too long, but who&’s about to dust off a long-ago secret dream and overturn everyone&’s expectations of him—especially his own. . .
Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon
by Dr. Joe DispenzaA WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER by DR. JOE DISPENZA , the author of the New York Times bestseller You Are the Placebo, as well as Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself and Evolve Your Brain. Becoming Supernatural draws on epigenetics, quantum physics & neuroscience research conducted at his advanced workshops since 2012 to explore how common people are doing the uncommon to transform their consciousness, mindset, and beliefs to heal and live SUPERNATURAL lives. Becoming Supernatural marries some of the most profound scientific information with ancient spiritual wisdom to show how people like you and me can experience a more mystical life. Readers will learn that we are, quite literally supernatural by nature if given the proper knowledge and instruction, and when we learn how to apply that information through various healing meditations, we should experience a greater expression of our creative abilities. We have the capacity to tune in to frequencies beyond our material world and receive more orderly coherent streams of consciousness and energy; that we can intentionally change our brain chemistry to initiate profoundly mystical transcendental experiences; and how, if we do this enough times, we can develop the skill of creating a more efficient, balanced, healthy body, a more unlimited mind, and greater access to the quantum field and the realms of spiritual truth. Topics include: • Demystifying the body&’s 7 energy centers and how you can balance them to heal • How to free yourself from the past by reconditioning your body to a new mind • How you can create reality in the generous present moment by changing your energy • The difference between third-dimension creation and fifth-dimension creation • The secret science of the pineal gland and its role in accessing mystical realms of reality • The distinction between Space-Time vs. Time-Space realities • And much more Chapters Include: Opening the Door to the Supernatural The Present Moment Tuning In to New Potentials in the Quantum Blessing of the Energy Centers Reconditioning the Body to a New Mind Case Studies: Living Examples of Truth Heart Intelligence Mind Movies/Kaleidoscope Walking Meditation Case Studies: Making It Real Space-Time and Time-Space The Pineal Gland Project Coherence: Making a Better World Case Studies: It Could Happen to YouUsing tools and disciplines ranging from cutting-edge physics to practical exercises such as a walking meditation, Dr. Joe offers nothing less than a proven program for stepping outside our physical reality and into the quantum field of infinite possibilities. &“In a style that is simple, straightforward, and easy to understand, Dr. Joe Dispenza has woven into a single volume the paradigm-altering discoveries of quantum science and the deep teachings that adepts of the past dedicated their entire lifetimes to master.&” — Gregg Braden, New York Times best-selling author of Human by Design and The Divine Matrix &“We can create better lives for ourselves—and that we are not linear beings living linear lives, but dimensional beings living dimensional lives. Hopefully, reading it will help you understand that you already have all the anatomy, chemistry, and physiology you need to become supernatural sitting latent within you, waiting to be awakened and activated.&” - Dr. Joe Dispenza New York Times best-selling author Researcher of epigenetics, quantum physics & neuroscience
Becoming Political: Spinoza’s Vital Republicanism and the Democratic Power of Judgment
by Christopher SkeaffIn this pathbreaking work, Christopher Skeaff argues that a profoundly democratic conception of judgment is at the heart of Spinoza’s thought. Bridging Continental and Anglo-American scholarship, critical theory, and Spinoza studies, Becoming Political offers a historically sensitive, meticulous, and creative interpretation of Spinoza’s texts that reveals judgment as the communal element by which people generate power to resist domination and reconfigure the terms of their political association. If, for Spinoza, judging is the activity which makes a people powerful, it is because it enables them to contest the project of ruling and demonstrate the political possibility of being equally free to articulate the terms of their association. This proposition differs from a predominant contemporary line of argument that treats the people’s judgment as a vehicle of sovereignty—a means of defining and refining the common will. By recuperating in Spinoza’s thought a “vital republicanism,” Skeaff illuminates a line of political thinking that decouples democracy from the majoritarian aspiration to rule and aligns it instead with the project of becoming free and equal judges of common affairs. As such, this decoupling raises questions that ordinarily go unasked: what calls for political judgment, and who is to judge? In Spinoza’s vital republicanism, the political potential of life and law finds an affirmative relationship that signals the way toward a new constitutionalism and jurisprudence of the common.
Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey
by Linda Greenhouse"A fascinating book. In clear and forceful prose, Becoming Justice Blackmun tells a judicial Horatio Alger story and a tale of a remarkable transformation . . . A page-turner."—The New York Times Book ReviewIn this acclaimed biography, Linda Greenhouse of The New York Times draws back the curtain on America's most private branch of government, the Supreme Court. Greenhouse was the first print reporter to have access to the extensive archives of Justice Harry A. Blackmun (1908–99), the man behind numerous landmark Supreme Court decisions, including Roe v. Wade.Through the lens of Blackmun's private and public papers, Greenhouse crafts a compelling portrait of a man who, from 1970 to 1994, ruled on such controversial issues as abortion, the death penalty, and sex discrimination yet never lost sight of the human beings behind the legal cases. Greenhouse also paints the arc of Blackmun's lifelong friendship with Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, revealing how political differences became personal, even for two of the country's most respected jurists.From America's preeminent Supreme Court reporter, this is a must-read for everyone who cares about the Court and its impact on our lives.
Becoming Green Gables: The Diary of Myrtle Webb and Her Famous Farmhouse
by Alan MacEachernIn 1909 Myrtle and Ernest Webb took possession of an ordinary farm in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. Ordinary but for one thing: it was already becoming known as inspiration for Anne of Green Gables, the novel written by Myrtle’s cousin Lucy Maud Montgomery and published to international acclaim a year earlier. The Webbs welcomed visitors to “Green Gables” and soon took in summer boarders, making their home the heart of PEI’s tourist trade. In the 1930s the farm was made the centrepiece of a new national park – and still the family lived there for another decade, caretakers of their own home.During these years Myrtle kept a diary. When she first picked up the pencil in 1924, she was a forty-year-old homemaker running a household of eight. By the time she set the pencil down in 1954, she was a seventy-year-old widow, no longer resident in what was now the most famous house in Canada. Becoming Green Gables tells the story of Myrtle Webb and her family, and the making of Green Gables. Alan MacEachern reproduces a selection of the diary’s daily entries, using them as springboards to examine topics ranging from the adoption of modern conveniences to the home front hosting of soldiers in wartime and visits from “Aunt Maud” herself.While the foundation of Becoming Green Gables is the Webbs’ own story, it is also a history of their famous home, their community, the nation, and the world in which they lived.
Becoming Great Universities: Small Steps for Sustained Excellence
by Richard J. Light Allison JeglaHow campus communities of every kind can transform themselves from good to greatBecoming Great Universities highlights ten core challenges that all colleges and universities face and offers practical steps that everyone on campus—from presidents to first-year undergraduates—can take to enhance student life and learning.This incisive book, written in a friendly and engaging style, draws on conversations with presidents, deans, and staff at hundreds of campuses across the country as well as scores of in-depth interviews with students and faculty. Providing suggestions that all members of a campus community can implement, Richard Light and Allison Jegla cover topics such as how to build a culture of innovation on campus, how to improve learning outcomes through experimentation, how to help students from under-resourced high schools succeed in college, and how to attract students from rural areas who may not be considering colleges far from their communities. They offer concrete ways to facilitate constructive interactions among students from different backgrounds, create opportunities for lifelong learning and engagement, and inspire students to think globally. And most of the ideas presented in this book can be implemented at little to no cost.Featuring a wealth of evidence-based examples, Becoming Great Universities offers actionable suggestions for everyone to have a positive impact on college life regardless of whether their campus is urban or rural, private or public, large or small, wealthy or not.
Becoming Clara Schumann: Performance Strategies and Aesthetics in the Culture of the Musical Canon
by Alexander StefaniakWell before she married Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann was already an internationally renowned pianist, and she concertized extensively for several decades after her husband's death. Despite being tied professionally to Robert, Clara forged her own career and played an important role in forming what we now recognize as the culture of classical music.Becoming Clara Schumann guides readers through her entire career, including performance, composition, edits to her husband's music, and teaching. Alexander Stefaniak brings together the full run of Schumann's concert programs, detailed accounts of her performances and reception, and other previously unexplored primary source material to illuminate how she positioned herself within larger currents in concert life and musical aesthetics. He reveals that she was an accomplished strategist, having played roughly 1,300 concerts across western and central Europe over the course of her six-decade career, and she shaped the canonization of her husband's music. Extraordinary for her time, Schumann earned success and prestige by crafting her own playing style, selecting and composing her own concerts, and acting as her own manager.By highlighting Schumann's navigation of her musical culture's gendered boundaries, Becoming Clara Schumann details how she cultivated her public image in order to win over audiences and embody some of her field's most ambitious aspirations for musical performance.