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Queering Desire: Lesbians, Gender and Subjectivity (Routledge Research in Gender and Society)
by Róisín Ryan-Flood and Amy Tooth MurphyQueering Desire explores, with unprecedented interdisciplinary scope, contemporary configurations of lesbian, bi, queer women’s, and non-binary people’s experiences of identity and desire. Taking an intersectional feminist and trans-inclusive approach, and incorporating new and established identities such as non-binary, masculine of centre (MOC), butch, and femme, this collection examines how the changing landscape for gender and sexual identities impacts on queer culture in productive and transformative ways.Within queer studies, explorations of desire, longing, and eroticism have often neglected AFAB, transfeminine, and non-binary people’s experiences. Through 25 newly commissioned chapters, a diverse range of authors, from early career researchers to established scholars, stage conversations at the cutting edge of sexuality studies. Queering Desire advances our understanding of contemporary lesbian and queer desire from an inclusive perspective that is supportive of trans and non-binary identities.This innovative interdisciplinary collection is an excellent resource for scholars, undergraduate, and postgraduate students interested in gender, sexuality, and identity across a range of fields, such as queer studies, feminist theory, anthropology, media studies, sociology, psychology, history, and social theory. In foregrounding female and non-binary experiences, this book constitutes a timely intervention.
Captive: 2,147 Days of Terror in the Colombian Jungle
by Clara RojasOn a fateful day in February 2002, campaign manager Clara Rojas accompanied longtime friend and presidential hopeful Ingrid Betancourt into an area controlled by the powerful leftist guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Armed with machine guns and grenades, the FARC took them hostage and kept them in the jungle for the next six years. After more than two years of captivity deep in the Colombian jungle, surrounded by jaguars, snakes, and tarantulas, miles from any town or hospital, Clara Rojas prepared to give birth in a muddy tent surrounded by heavily armed guerrillas. Her captors promised that a doctor would be brought to the camp to help her. But when Rojas went into labor and began to suffer complications, the only person on hand was a guerrilla wielding a kitchen knife. The guerrillas drugged Rojas with anesthetic while one of them slit open her abdomen. Her son, Emmanuel, was born by amateur cesarean section in April 2004. His survival was miraculous, but her joy was soon cut short when the FARC took him from her when he was only eight months old. For the next three years, Clara was given no information about him, but her desire to one day see him again kept her alive. In early 2008, Clara was finally liberated and reunited with her son—to whom this book is dedicated.
The Tiredness Cure: How to beat fatigue and feel great for good
by Dr. Sohere RokedDo you rely on cups of tea or coffee in order to ‘wake up’? Do you feel exhausted for no apparent reason? Are you completely stressed out at the end of the week or even day? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then it’s time to take control of your health with The Tiredness Cure. Written by Dr Sohère Roked, one of the few GPs in the UK trained in both conventional and holistic medicine, this empowering guide to overcoming fatigue will help you to: Choose the right diet and exercise to restore energy levels Discover the best supplements to help you feel great and look younger Balance your hormones and improve your gut health to be truly well, inside and out
Al Roker's Big Bad Book of Barbecue: 100 Easy Recipes for Barbecue and Grilling
by Al RokerA backyard-loving guy, Al Roker's passionate about firing up all three of his grills at once and cooking everything from Steaks As Big As Your Head and Kansas City-Style Ribs to Grilled Sea Bass. The hundred recipes in this book are casual and simple -- just the way Al likes to cook for his family and friends. Like most of us, Al first learned to grill at the knee of his dad, whose policy was "the more lighter fluid, the better." But a trip to the Memphis in May Barbecue Championship ignited a real passion, and since then Al's grills have rarely grown cold. And while Al does have some hard-and-fast rules, like "don't keep moving your meat around" and "never touch another man's grill," his food is simple yet inventive, impressive and delicious. In addition to great stuff for over the fire -- Jerk Chicken, Marinated Pork Tenderloin, Kebabs Cooked Right, New Orleans-Style Barbecued Shrimp, Fish Fillets with Lemon-Parsley Sauce, Turkey on the Grill, and, from "The Wurst City in the World," Sheboygan Bratwurst -- Al Roker's Big Bad Book of Barbecue has something for everyone, including recipes for quick-and-easy starters, marinades, main-dish salads, sides, classic American desserts, cooling drinks, vegetarian dishes, and low-fat fare. So lean back in that lawn chair and have a sip of Lemon-Lime Fizz. Munch on a Spicy Wing or some BBQ Popcorn. That brisket should take care of itself in another hour or so.
Hadrian the Seventh
by Frederick Rolfe'If there be one place in all this orb of earth where a secret is a Secret, that place is a Roman Conclave' Part novel, part daydream, part diatribe, this strange masterpiece tells the story of George Arthur Rose, a poor, frustrated writer who lives in a shabby bedsit, saving his cigarette ends and eating soup - until one day he is made Pope. As the first English pontiff in five centuries, he is a mass of contradictions: infallible and petulant, humble and despotic. Yet Hadrian the Seventh is really a knowing self-portrait of its flamboyant author Baron Corvo, a would-be priest with aristocratic pretensions, and one of the greatest eccentrics of English literature.
Ascent to Power: How Truman Emerged from Roosevelt's Shadow and Remade the World
by David L. RollFrom Franklin Roosevelt&’s final days through Harry Truman&’s extraordinary transformation, this is the enthralling story behind the most consequential presidential transition in US history. When Roosevelt, in failing health, decided to run for a fourth term, he gave in to the big city Democratic bosses and reluctantly picked Senator Truman as his vice president, a man he barely knew. Upon FDR&’s death in April 1945, Truman, after only 82 days as VP, was thrust into the presidency. Utterly unprepared, he faced the collapse of Germany, a Europe in ruins, the organization of the UN, a summit with Stalin and Churchill, and the question of whether atomic bombs would be ready for use against Japan. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union was growing increasingly hostile towards US power. Truman inherited FDR&’s hope that peace could be maintained through cooperation with the Soviets, but he would soon learn that imitating his predecessor would lead only to missteps and controversy. Spanning the years of transition, 1944 to 1948, Ascent to Power illuminates Truman&’s struggles to emerge as president in his own right. Yet, from a relatively unknown Missouri senator to the most powerful man on Earth, Truman&’s legacy transcends. With his come-from-behind campaign in the fall of 1948, his courageous civil rights advocacy, and his role in liberating millions from militarist governments and brutal occupations, Truman&’s decisions during these pivotal years changed the course of the world in ways so significant we live with them today.
Legalizing Drugs: The key to ending the war (No-Nonsense Guides #3)
by Steve RollesThe question is no longer if we should end the war on drugs but how we do it. This No-Nonsense Guide counts the human and financial cost of fifty years of drug war – and proceeds to outline a better way, looking at where drug law reform is already working, how to overcome the obstacles to reform, and what a post-drug war world might look like.
The Cradle of Ice (Moonfall #2)
by James RollinsThe second book in the New York Times bestselling Moonfall series from thriller-master James Rollins, The Cradle of Ice is a page-turning tale of action, adventure, betrayal, ambition, and the struggle for survival in a harsh world that hangs by a thread.To stop the coming apocalypse, a fellowship was formed.A soldier, a thief, a lost prince, and a young girl bonded by fate and looming disaster.Each step along this path has changed the party, forging deep alliances and greater enmities. All the while, hostile forces have hunted them, fearing what they might unleash. Armies wage war around them.For each step has come with a cost—in blood, in loss, in heartbreak.Now, they must split, traveling into a vast region of ice and to a sprawling capital of the world they’ve only known in stories. Time is running out and only the truth will save them all.The Moonfall Series:The Starless CrownThe Cradle of IceAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The Idolatry of God: Breaking Our Addiction to Certainty and Satisfaction
by Peter RollinsYou can’t be satisfied. Life is difficult. You don’t know the secret.Whether readers are devout believers or distant seekers, The Idolatry of God shows that we must lay down our certainties and honestly admit our doubts to identify with Jesus. Rollins purposely upsets fundamentalist certainty in order to open readers up to a more loving, active manifestation of Christ’s love. In contrast to the usual understanding of the “Good News” as a message offering satisfaction and certainty, Rollins argues for a radical and shattering alternative. He explores how the Good News actually involves embracing the idea that we can’t be whole, that life is difficult, and that we are in the dark. Showing how God has traditionally been approached as a product that will render us complete, remove our suffering, and reveal the answers, he introduces an incendiary approach to faith that invites us to joyfully embrace our brokenness, resolutely face our unknowing, and courageously accept the difficulties of existence. Only then, he argues, can we truly rob death of its sting and enter into the fullness of life.
Insurrection: To Believe Is Human; To Doubt, Divine (Insurrections: Critical Studies In Religion, Politics, And Culture Ser.)
by Peter RollinsIn this incendiary new work, the controversial author and speaker Peter Rollins proclaims that the Christian faith is not primarily concerned with questions regarding life after death but with the possibility of life before death.In order to unearth this truth, Rollins prescribes a radical and wholesale critique of contemporary Christianity that he calls pyro-theology. It is only as we submit our spiritual practices, religious rituals, and dogmatic affirmations to the flames of fearless interrogation that we come into contact with the reality that Christianity is in the business of transforming our world rather than offering a way of interpreting or escaping it. Belief in the Resurrection means but one thing: Participation in an Insurrection."What Pete does in this book is take you to the edge of a cliff where you can see how high you are and how far you would fall if you lost your footing. And just when most writers would kindly pull you back from edge, he pushes you off, and you find yourself without any solid footing, disoriented, and in a bit of a panic…until you realize that your fall is in fact, a form of flying. And it's thrilling."--Rob Bell, author of Love Wins and Velvet Elvis"While others labor to save the Church as they know it, Peter Rollins takes an ax to the roots of the tree. Those who have enjoyed its shade will want to stop him, but his strokes are so clean and true that his motive soon becomes clear: this man trusts the way of death and resurrection so much that he has become fearless of religion." --Barbara Brown Taylor, author of Leaving Church and An Altar in the World“Rollins writes and thinks like a new Bonhoeffer, crucifying the trappings of religion in order to lay bare a radical, religionless and insurrectional Christianity. A brilliant new voice—an activist, a storyteller and a theologian all in one—and not a moment too soon.” --John D. Caputo, Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion Emeritus, Syracuse University“What does it mean when the Son of God cries out, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me’? Brilliantly, candidly, and faithfully, Rollins wrestles here with that question. You may not agree with his answers and conclusions, but you owe it to yourself and to the Church at large to read what he says.” --Phyllis Tickle, author, The Great Emergence"Excellent thinking and excellent writing! I hope this fine bookreceives the broad reading it deserves. It will change lives, andour understanding of what religion is all about!"-- Rohr,O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation; Albuquerque, New Mexico
The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins
by Sonny RollinsAn illuminating selection of writings on a wide variety of topics—everything from technique, music theory, and daily routine to spirituality and systemic racism—from the personal journals of Sonny Rollins, master of the tenor saxophone and &“jazz&’s greatest living improviser&” (The New York Times).Sonny Rollins is one of the towering masters of American music, a virtuoso of the saxophone, and an unequaled improviser whose live performances are legendary and who has reshaped modern jazz time and time again over the course of a career lasting more than sixty years. A turning point in that legendary career came in 1959, when Rollins stepped back from performing and recording to begin a new regime of musical exploration, which saw him practicing for hours, sometimes all through the night, on the Williamsburg Bridge. This was also the moment when he started the notebook that would become a trusted companion in years to come—not a diary so much as a place to ponder art and life and his own search for meaning in words and in images.At once quotidian and aphoristic, the notebooks mingle lists of chores and rehearsal routines with ruminations on nightclub culture, racism, and the conundrums of the inner life. And always there is the music—questions of embouchure, fingering, and technique; of harmony and dissonance; of his own and others&’ art and the art of jazz. &“Any definition,&” Rollins insists, &“which seeks to separate Johann Sebastian Bach from Miles Davis is defeating its own purpose of clarification. . . .The Musings of Miles is then the Bouncing of Bach both played against each other.&” Edited and introduced by the critic and jazz scholar Sam V.H. Reese, The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins provides an unequaled glimpse into the mind and workshop of a musical titan, as well as a wealth of insight and inspiration to readers.
Demolition
by Neil RollinsonWith the frank, subversive, and very funny poems in his first two books, Neil Rollinson established himself as a deft cartographer of the sensual world. While a rich and tactile eroticism still courses through Demolition, there is a new seriousness here, as mortality starts to throw its long shadow. These poems occupy a more rueful, reflective space - provisional, mercurial and fragile - a darker place where disintegration and loss are the only certainties, and memory is the only solid ground. Central to this is the death of the father - whether the poet's own, or the lost fathers of Borges or Vallejo - and the theme is broadened through a number of moving examinations of the erosion of time and youth. Against this gathering darkness, Rollinson sets a spirited defence, blending the lyric and vernacular voice in a muscular celebration of food, sex, sport and the natural world that is unusually refreshing, and sophisticated enough to allow both humour and profundity.The poems in Demolition never give up hope; they exhibit a tenacious optimism - or at least a steely pragmatism - that says: we have what we are given, there is no alternative, and we all must find what joy we can in life, and in its living.
Spanish Fly
by Neil RollinsonContinuing where he left off with A Spillage of Mercury, Neil Rollinson's eagerly awaited new collection delves again into the dark, moist, unexpected bag of human experience. Taking the themes of love, sex, and life's unpredictable mysteries and excitements, he scrapes away at the veneer of normality to reveal a world that is instantly stranger and more compelling than before.Rollinson revisits the erotic with his usual wit and bravado, in poems that are sometimes playful and sensitive, sometimes visceral and shocking. He explores scientific subjects through bedroom eyes, introducing the idea of entropy to the lovers' lexicon; he makes sport a backdrop for loneliness - his characters playing golf on the moon, taking the final penalty in the shoot-out, or wandering aimlessly and forever through the high grass of the village-cricket boundary. Diverse and provocative, vibrant and accessible, Spanish Fly is an unusually happy combination: a successful stimulant and a wholly satisfying performance.
Talking Dead
by Neil RollinsonShortlisted for the 2015 Costa Poetry PrizeLike Neil Rollinson’s earlier books, Talking Dead is a refreshment of the senses: lifting the lid on the human condition in a heartfelt celebration of the act of being, whether in moments of love or mortality, sex or feasting.In the central sequence of the book – a meditation on the space between life and death – the dead speak of their final earthly moments with a liberating sense of fascination, and a luminous awe. Elsewhere we enjoy al fresco sex, astronomy via many pints in the Cat and Fiddle, and the deliverance of an Indian monsoon after weeks of thirst and drought. In ‘Christmas in Andalucia’ two lovers Skype each other achingly across hundreds of miles – ‘I am full of loss and longing,’ the poet says, ‘the heart is hewn from elm and oak and mistletoe.’As provocative, sensual and subversive as ever, these poems seek and find the numinous in the everyday: some element of ritual or wonder that transforms experience. Although the spectre of darkness is never far away, it is the spirit of pleasure that endures, and we discover to our delight, as D. H. Lawrence did, that the Dionysian finally prevails over the Apollonian.
Carmine's Celebrates: Classic Italian Recipes for Everyday Feasts
by Glenn Rolnick Chris PetersonCarmine's is founded on the twin concepts of deliciousness and Italian abbondanza. In their wildly popular Times Square flagship location and their other restaurants in New York City, Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Washington, DC, and Paradise Island, Bahamas, the tables are filled with giant platters of pasta, steaks, chicken, vegetables and more. And every single diner has a smile on his face. Now that concept comes home from the masters. In new cookbook Carmine's Celebrates, Chef Glenn Rolnick teaches home cooks how to make more than one hundred dishes in happy-making quantities. Nothing is difficult to make, serve or store. Each dish uses grocery store ingredients and extracts the flavor of Italy from them so anyone can be an amazing cook. There is a special emphasis on "everyday" holidays, such as weekend family dinners, and also on traditional holiday food for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Recipes include:—Crostini with Cannellini Bean Dip—Sea Scallops Wrapped in Pancetta—Mussels Fra Diavolo—Pasta Carbonara—Chicken Cacciatore
The Clouded Mirror
by L.T.C RoltIn these evocative and elegiac writings L. T. C. Rolt meditates on landscape, history, poetry, steam railways, vintage cars and the endless summer days of his childhood. He also recalls his many happy boating voyages on Britain's canals: the peace and tranquillity, the wildlife and people, the changing scenery as he travelled from county to county, and the role he played in preserving the waterways for future generations. Generations of inhabitants have helped shape the English countryside - but it has profoundly shaped us too.It has provoked a huge variety of responses from artists, writers, musicians and people who live and work on the land - as well as those who are travelling through it.English Journeys celebrates this long tradition with a series of twenty books on all aspects of the countryside, from stargazey pie and country churches, to man's relationship with nature and songs celebrating the patterns of the countryside (as well as ghosts and love-struck soldiers).
Veränderte Stadterneuerungspolitiken in China: Politikübertragung und Politiklernen unter mehreren Hierarchieebenen
by Giulia C. Romano"Dies ist eine sehr reichhaltige Monografie, die auf einer beeindruckenden Feldforschung in China basiert und die ausgezeichnete qualitative und ethnografische Forschungsfähigkeiten, Forschungsintegrität und kulturelle Wahrnehmungsfähigkeit in der Analyse demonstriert. Dieses Buch wird einen großen Beitrag zur Literatur über Politiktransfer und -mobilität sowie über Stadtpolitik im zeitgenössischen China leisten, da es ein umfassendes Verständnis der konkreten Praktiken des Transfers und des Lernens 'vom Ausland' bietet."Claire Colomb, Professorin für Urbanistik und Planung am University College London, Großbritannien.Dieses Buch untersucht das Konzept der behutsamen Stadterneuerung, ein Konzept der Stadterneuerung, das in den 1980er Jahren in Berlin entstand und Anfang der 2000er Jahre für Yangzhou, eine chinesische Stadt in der wohlhabenden Provinz Jiangsu, vorgeschlagen wurde. Das Buch geht der Frage nach, ob Wissen und Ideen, die in einem bestimmten Umfeld entstanden sind, auf einen anderen Ort übertragen werden können, der Tausende von Kilometern vom Ursprungsort entfernt ist, und ob sie die Möglichkeit haben, die Politik und die Praktiken der Zielstadt zu verändern. Das Buch zeigt, dass ausländische Ideen ehrgeizige Reformen der Politik einer einzelnen Stadt inspirieren können, dass es aber auch zahlreiche Herausforderungen für das politische Lernen und die Verwurzelung neuer Ideen in der lokalen Praxis gibt. Um diese Herausforderungen zu erforschen, wird in diesem Buch eine Analyse der Mikrodynamik des Politiktransfers entwickelt, die zeigt, dass es mehrere Hierarchien gibt, denen eine chinesische Stadt unterworfen sein kann und die zeitweise "Fenster für politisches Lernen" öffnen oder schließen.
The Paradox of Intellectual Property in Capitalism
by João Romeiro HermetoThe Paradox of Intellectual Property in Capitalism is an innovative book that comprehensively discusses and analyses intellectual property under capitalistic social conditions and relations. It not only addresses some historical developments of intellectual property but also brings to the fore the very notion of what knowledge is, knowledge creation, and knowledge production and appropriation within a Marxist framework. Nonetheless, the adopted approach pays heed to multiple fields of knowledge, providing rich discussions that facilitate the understanding of actual social totality in which capitalism, knowledge production and appropriation, and the struggles of appropriation mutually reinforce each other, although not devoid of antagonisms and contradictions. In light of contemporary capitalism, the transformations that social property relations are undergoing must be scrutinised – such as those brought about by the development of digitalisation and the convergence between big pharma and tech giants. What are the conditions of intellectual property creation today? What theoretical assumptions does it make? Under what social relations is intellectual property produced? Throughout, the emphasis is not on individual cases or symptoms but on the overarching logic: the logic of capitalism as revealed in intellectual property.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Papyrus Of Ani
by John RomerThe Book of the Dead is a unique collection of funerary texts from a wide variety of sources, dating from the fifteenth to the fourth century BC. Consisting of spells, prayers and incantations, each section contains the words of power to overcome obstacles in the afterlife. The papyruses were often left in sarcophagi for the dead to use as passports on their journey from burial, and were full of advice about the ferrymen, gods and kings they would meet on the way. Offering valuable insights into ancient Egypt, The Book of the Dead has also inspired fascination with the occult and the afterlife in recent years.
A History of Ancient Egypt, Volume 3: From the Shepherd Kings to the End of the Theban Monarchy
by John RomerThe final chapter in the definitive, three-volume history of the world's first known stateArchaeologist John Romer has spent a lifetime chronicling the history of Ancient Egypt, and here he tells the epic story of an era dominated by titans of the popular imagination: the radical iconoclast Akhenaten, the boy-king Tutankhamun and the all-conquering Ramesses II. But 'heroes' do not forge history by themselves. This was also a time of international trade, cultural exchange and sophisticated art, even in the face of violent change.Alongside his visionary new history of this, the most famous period in the long history of Ancient Egypt, Romer turns a critical eye on Egyptology itself. Paying close attention to the evidence, he corrects prevailing narratives which cast the New Kingdom as an imperial state power in the European mould. Instead, he reveals - through broken artefacts in ruined workshops, or preserved letters between a tomb-builder and his son - a culture more beautiful and beguiling than we could have imagined.Romer carefully reconstructs the real story of the New Kingdom as evidenced in the archaeological record, and the result - the final volume of a lifelong project - secures his status as Ancient Egypt's finest chronicler.
Blueprints Visual Scripting for Unreal Engine 5: Unleash the true power of Blueprints to create impressive games and applications in UE5
by Marcos Romero Brenden SewellExplore the faster way to build games using UE5 Blueprints using this practical guide with key images printed in colorKey FeaturesDesign a fully functional game in UE5 without writing a single line of codeImplement visual scripting to develop gameplay mechanics, UI, visual effects, VR, and artificial intelligenceDeploy your game on multiple platforms and share it with the worldBook DescriptionUnreal Engine's Blueprint visual scripting system enables designers to script their games and programmers to create base elements that can be extended by designers. With this book, you'll explore all the features of the Blueprint Editor, along with expert tips, shortcuts, and best practices. The book guides you through using variables, macros, and functions, and helps you learn about object-oriented programming (OOP). You'll discover the Gameplay Framework and advance to learning how Blueprint Communication allows one Blueprint to access information from another Blueprint. Later chapters focus on building a fully functional game step by step. You'll start with a basic first-person shooter (FPS) template, and each chapter will build on the prototype to create an increasingly complex and robust game experience. You'll then progress from creating basic shooting mechanics to more complex systems such as user interface elements and intelligent enemy behavior. The book demonstrates how to use arrays, maps, enums, and vector operations and introduces the elements needed for VR game development. In the final chapters, you’ll learn how to implement procedural generation and create a product configurator. By the end of this book, you'll have learned how to build a fully functional game and have the skills required to develop an entertaining experience for your audience.What you will learnUnderstand programming concepts in BlueprintsCreate prototypes and iterate new game mechanics rapidlyBuild user interface elements and interactive menusUse advanced Blueprint nodes to manage the complexity of a gameExplore all the features of the Blueprint editor, such as the Components tab, Viewport, and Event GraphGet to grips with OOP concepts and explore the Gameplay FrameworkWork with virtual reality development in UE BlueprintImplement procedural generation and create a product configuratorWho this book is forThis book is for anyone interested in developing games or applications with UE5. Although basic knowledge of Windows OS is required, experience in programming or UE5 is not necessary.
Battle of the Blanket Forts: A Quix Book (Fort Builders Inc Ser. #3)
by Dee RomitoWhen kids of Fort Builders, Inc., go to summer camp, a friendly blanket fort competition turns serious in the third story in the fun-to-read Aladdin QUIX chapter book series that&’s perfect for emerging readers!Kiara is super excited to go to Camp Firefly for the summer and be with all her friends, including the rest of Fort Builders, Inc. And this year, she can&’t wait to enter the camp-wide CREATE contest. One lucky team will win the prize of building something from scratch, using all the DIY skills they show in the competition. Kiara and her cabin decide compete by making the best blanket fort ever—but Caleb and his cabin decide to do the same thing! Can they learn to work together, or will this epic blanket fort battle turn into an all-out cabin war?
The Sacred Band: Three Hundred Theban Lovers and the Last Days of Greek Freedom
by James RommFrom classicist James Romm comes a &“striking…fascinating&” (Booklist) deep dive into the last decades of ancient Greek freedom leading up to Alexander the Great&’s destruction of Thebes—and the saga of the greatest military corps of the time, the Theban Sacred Band, a unit composed of 150 pairs of male lovers.The story of the Sacred Band, an elite 300-man corps recruited from pairs of lovers, highlights a chaotic era of ancient Greek history, four decades marked by battles, ideological disputes, and the rise of vicious strongmen. At stake was freedom, democracy, and the fate of Thebes, at this time the leading power of the Greek world.The tale begins in 379 BC, with a group of Theban patriots sneaking into occupied Thebes. Disguised in women&’s clothing, they cut down the agents of Sparta, the state that had cowed much of Greece with its military might. To counter the Spartans, this group of patriots would form the Sacred Band, a corps whose history plays out against a backdrop of Theban democracy, of desperate power struggles between leading city-states, and the new prominence of eros, sexual love, in Greek public life.After four decades without a defeat, the Sacred Band was annihilated by the forces of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander in the Battle of Chaeronea—extinguishing Greek liberty for two thousand years. Buried on the battlefield where they fell, they were rediscovered in 1880—some skeletons still in pairs, with arms linked together.From violent combat in city streets to massive clashes on open ground, from ruthless tyrants to bold women who held their era in thrall, The Sacred Band recounts &“in fluent, accessible prose&” (The Wall Street Journal) the twists and turns of a crucial historical moment: the end of the treasured freedom of ancient Greece.
The Mercy Papers: A Memoir of Three Weeks
by Robin RommWhen Robin Romm's The Mother Garden was published, The New York Times Book Review called her "a close-up magician," saying, "hers is the oldest kind [of magic] we know: the ordinary incantation of words and stories to help us navigate the darkness and finally to hold the end at bay." In her searing memoir The Mercy Papers, Romm uses this magic to expand the weeks before her mother's death into a story about a daughter in the moments before and after loss. With a striking mix of humor and honesty, Romm ushers us into a world where an obstinate hospice nurse tries to heal through pamphlets and a yelping grandfather squirrels away money in a shoe-shine kit. Untrained dogs scamper about as strangers and friends rally around death, offering sympathy as they clamor for attention. The pillbox turns quickly into a metaphor for order; questions about medication turn to musings about God. The mundane and spiritual melt together as Romm reveals the sharp truths that lurk around every corner and captures, with great passion, the awe, fear, and fury of a daughter losing her mother. The Mercy Papers was started in the midst of heartbreak, and not originally intended for an audience. The result is a raw, unsentimental book that reverberates with humanity. Robin Romm has created a tribute to family and an indelible portrait that will speak to anyone who has ever loved and lost.
Architektur als Medium des Zukünftigen: Hörspiel, Film und Zeitschrift 1945–1955 (Media. Literaturwissenschaftliche Forschungen)
by Tanja RommelfangerDas Buch beschäftigt sich mit der Architektur der unmittelbaren Nachkriegszeit als Gegenstand medialer Repräsentation. Dabei bewegt es sich im Spannungsfeld von Germanistik, Architekturgeschichte und Medienwissenschaft. Anhand von Radiohörspielen, Architekturzeitschriften und Filmen geht es der Frage nach, wie Architektur in Szene gesetzt wird. Dabei bezieht die Analyse mit ein, wie diese im Hinblick auf die Konstruktion und den Aufbau einer neuen Zukunft mit bestehenden Diskursen der Moderne in Verbindung gebracht wird und problematische Bezüge zur nationalsozialistischen Vergangenheit aufweist. In Werken von Günter Eich (Träume, 1951), Otto Renner (BAU. Zeitschrift für wohnen, arbeiten, sich erholen, 1947) und mit einem anonymen Städtefilm (Stein auf Stein. Ein Land baut auf, 1949) werden wenig bekannte Kurzformen aufgegriffen, um deren Verknüpfung mit neuen Medienverbunden und soziopolitischen Diskursen zu erforschen. Die detaillierten Analysen - von Eichs „Fünftem Traum“ als Mediengeflecht von Text, Musik und Geräusch, der heute wenig bekannten, aber zu ihrer Zeit renommierten Architekturzeitschrift BAU als Medienverbund aus zirkulierenden und wiederaufbereiteten Fotografien, Zeichnungen, Texten und Typografie und dem Kurzfilm Stein auf Stein mit seinen intermedialen Bezügen u.a. zur Fotografie - stellen Querverbindungen zu vielen Figuren und Werken dieser Zeit her, in der die Architektur eine Neubewertung als vermittelnde Instanz zwischen Individuum und Gesellschaft erfährt.Davon ausgehend schließt die Autorin auf größere Problematiken, die die Öffentlichkeit in den frühen Nachkriegsjahren beschäftigten. Dabei weist sie Momente des Exzesses und der Überschreitung in den Werken auf, die in einer Zeit der Ressourcenknappheit, Medienregulierung und konfliktreicher Lizensierungspolitik entstanden sind. Auch der Umbruch im Mediengefüge durch die Einführung von Fernsehen und die moralisch aufgeladene Debatte über eine entnazifizierte Öffentlichkeit werden reflektiert. Das Buch geht auch ausführlich auf die Besatzungspolitik im teilautonomen Saarland ein und führt die französische Kolonialpolitik in Algerien indirekt über die Rezeption Le Corbusiers in den deutschen Diskurs ein.Das Buch richtet sich an Studierende und Forschende der Fachgebiete Literatur-, Medien- und Kulturwissenschaft, Kunstgeschichte und Architektur.