Hardcover. NY, Walker & Company, 1st, 2000, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. chronicles the Roman Catholic Church's crusade against--and ultimate annihilation of--the Albigenses, or Cathars, a group of heretical Christians who thrived in what is now the Languedoc region of Southern France. The Cathars held revolutionary beliefs that threatened the authority of the church. The world, they maintained, was not created by a benevolent God. Rather, it was the creation of a force of darkness, immanent in all things. They considered worldly authority a fraud, and authority based on some divine sanction, such as claimed by the church, outright hypocrisy. Innocent III, resolved to eradicate the Cathar threat to church authority, recruited the military powers of France, eager to expand their territory to the south. Together, they systematically exterminated the Cathars and their supporters in a series of crusades between 1209 and 1229. The Dominican-led Inquisition that ensued built upon this momentum of intolerance and tormented Europe for centuries to come. 333 pages, endpapers map.
Hardcover. London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, reprint, 1965, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in a lightly worn dust jacket, 368 pages. Hans Vaihinger (1852-1933) was an important and fascinating figure in German philosophy in the early twentieth century, founding the well-known journal Kantstudien. Yet he was overshadowed by the burgeoning movements of phenomenology and analytical philosophy, as well as hostility towards his work because of his defense of Jewish scholars in a Germany controlled by Nazism. However, it is widely acknowledged today that The Philosophy of 'As If' is a philosophical masterwork. Vaihinger argues that in face of an overwhelmingly complex world, we produce a simpler set of ideas, or idealizations, that help us negotiate it. When cast as fictions, such ideas provide an easier and more useful way to think about certain subjects, from mathematics and physics to law and morality, than would the truth in all its complexity. Even in science, he wrote, we must proceed "as if" a material world exists independently of perceiving subjects; in behavior, we must act "as if" ethical certainty were possible; in religion, we must believe "as if" there were a God. He also explores the role of fictions in the history of philosophy, going back to the ancient Greeks and the work of Leibniz, Adam Smith and Bentham. Name on front fly leaf, otherwise clean.
Hardcover. NY, St. Martin's Press, 1st, 1962, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, lightly worn dust jacket. A look at Britain in the period before the Battle of Britain - a world of gas masks, blackouts, rationing, evacuations and warnings about what to do if a German parachutist lands on your doorstep - a time when it was an offence to leave a car parked without disabling it and when signpost were torn down to confuse the enemy.
Hardcover. NY, Atheneum, 1st, 1973, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 353 pages. This is the first book-length survey of the international illicit trade in antiquities, and of the worldwide destruction of what is left of our civilized past. Museums, dealers, tomb-robbers, police, and scholars form the cast of a story that moves from tropical jungles to Madison Avenue galleries, from a rifled temple to a collector's private museum. A centerpiece of the book is a detailed consideration of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's acquisition of the beautiful calyx krater by Euphronios, which the Italian authorities are claiming was taken illicitly from an Etruscan tomb in 1971. 24-page b/w photo section. Index. Extensive, 23 page Bibliography. Clean copy.
Hardcover. NY, Harper and Brothers, 1st, 1869, Book: Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, maroon cloth with beveled edges. Engraved frontispiece with tissue guard and profusely illustrated throughout with 163 wood-engravings. The author of several other scientific works here gives a description of the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the globe in both a popular and scientific way. He gives a succinct history of the several polar expeditions, American and European. Covers with edge wear and fraying to spine, gilt blindstamped scene of dog sled on front cover, gilt kayak scene and lettering on spine faded. Interior of book very good, no markings.
Softcover. Armonk NY, M.E. Sharpe, 1st pbk, 1993, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 272 pages. "The Political Economy of Chinese Socialism" re-conceptualized the political economy of China by highlighting the changing character of urban-rural and state-society conflicts in the era of Mao Zedong's leadership and in the contemporary post-Mao reforms. The economic and social crises that engulfed China - and indeed much of the rest of the socialist world - in the late 1980s, culminating in the 1989 democratic movement and its suppression, stimulated a rethinking of central propositions of the first edition. It particularly led the author to inquire anew into the meaning of socio-political as well as economic development in a populous and poor agrarian nation. This volume, then, assesses the economic performance and social consequences of China's political economy over four decades, with a focus on China's countryside and city-countryside relations.
Softcover. NY, Harcourt, Brace & World, reprint, 1963, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 760 pages. This is a frank and insightful analysis of the political and economic influences in the United States during the Reconstruction Era, covering the years immediately after the Civil War and the death of Abraham Lincoln, and ending shortly before the Spanish-American War. Originally published in 1938. Name on front fly leaf, otherwise clean.
Hardcover. NY, Pantheon, 1st, 1994, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 450 pages. Map endpapers. Ever since the appearance of his groundbreaking The Question of Palestine, Edward Said has been America's most outspoken advocate for Palestinian self-determination. As these collected essays amply prove, he is also our most intelligent and bracingly heretical writer on affairs involving not only Palestinians but also the Arab and Muslim worlds and their tortuous relations with the West. In The Politics of Dispossession Said traces his people's struggle for statehood through twenty-five years of exile, from the PLO's bloody 1970 exile from Jordan through the debacle of the Gulf War and the ambiguous 1994 peace accord with Israel. As frank as he is about his personal involvement in that struggle, Said is equally unsparing in his demolition of Arab icons and American shibboleths. Stylish, impassioned, and informed by a magisterial knowledge of history and literature, The Politics of Dispossession is a masterly synthesis of scholarship and polemic that has the power to redefine the debate over the Middle East. Clean copy.
Hardcover. NY, Alfred A. Knopf, 1st, 2001, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 355 pages. In this meticulously researched, unflinching, and reasoned study, National Book Award finalist David I. Kertzer presents shocking revelations about the role played by the Vatican in the development of modern anti-Semitism. Working in long-sealed Vatican archives, Kertzer unearths startling evidence to undermine the Church's argument that it played no direct role in the spread of modern anti-Semitism. In doing so, he challenges the Vatican's recent official statement on the subject, We Remember. Kertzer tells an unsettling story that has stirred up controversy around the world and sheds a much-needed light on the past. Newspaper review laid in. Clean copy.
Hardcover. NY, Farrar Straus Giroux, 1st, 2006, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 347 pages. In this first biography focusing on John Hammond, the charismatic American music producer is brought to life by journalist Dunston Prial. Hammond was renowned for his ability to spot new talent, introducing the world to some of most gifted musicians of early jazz- Billie Holiday, Count Basie, and Charlie Christian. Then, as jazz gave way to pop and rock, Hammond staged an amazing second act discovering Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. 'The Producer' covers Hammond's entire story from his heyday as a music producer to his privileged upbringing as a Vanderbilt. This is a story of an American music in all its rough-edged vitality. Clean copy.
Hardcover. Boyds Mills Press, 1st, 2002, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. Long ago in a part of the world once known as Mesopotamia, a nomadic tribesman led his people through the wilderness in search of a mystical land called Canaan. This journey would change the course of human history. Since that time, entire civilizations have flourished and vanished, along with their religions. Only one people has survived the tumult of the centuries--the Jews. What accounts for their remarkable survival? Neil Waldman tells the story of the Jewish people from their arrival in Canaan to the Exodus from Egypt. His paintings capture emotional scenes of Jewish life in the ancient world and in Europe. He shows how generation upon generation of Jews, in the face of profound crisis, have drawn strength from God's promise of a land flowing with milk and honey. The key to the Jewish people's survival is found in the story of their birth. Clean copy.
Softcover. UK, Penguin Books, reprint, 1983, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 317 pages. The roots of apartheid. The book relates the history of a small people, the Afrikaners, and their attempts to remake their particular world according to a rational plan from the radical Right. First published in 1975. Clean copy.
Softcover. NY, Little, Brown and Company, ARC, 2019, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, uncorrected proof. 364 pages. the untold, richly detailed story of the women of Walt Disney Studios, who shaped the iconic films that have enthralled generations For the first time, author Nathalia Holt recounts their dramatic stories, showing how these women infiltrated the all-male domain of Disney's story and animation departments and used early technologies to create the rich artwork and unforgettable story lines that have become part of the American canon. Over the decades - while battling sexism, domestic abuse, and workplace intimidation - these women also fought to transform the way female characters are depicted to young audiences.Based on extensive interviews and exclusive access to archival and personal documents. Clean copy.
Hardcover. Cleveland/NY, World Publishing Co., 1st, 1955, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, red cloth covers with eagle logo on front cover, 319 pages, spectacular color illustrations by James Daugherty "The Rainbow Book of American History" is a storybook, written in a narrative format with the author telling his children the story of our country. The book covers the time period from Leif Erickson to the dropping of the atomic bomb of World War II. To enhance the text James Daughtery has created memorable illustrations which are gorgeous and enhance the text. Dust jacket has light chipping to edges, otherwise a clean, bright copy.
Yorkshire UK, White Owl, 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. An in-depth look at the history that shaped the much beloved Herge and the Tintin books. Herge created twenty-four Tintin books which have been translated into more than seventy languages and sold 230 million copies worldwide. The author takes an in-depth look at the man behind the cultural phenomenon and the history that helped shape these books. As well as focusing on the controversies that engulfed Herge, this biography will also look at his personal life, as well as the relationships and experiences that influenced him.
Hardcover. NY , Norton, 1st, 1979, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in an unclipped dust jacket with fading to spine, 253 pages. This series of sketches captures Stalin with irony, humor and pathos. The author calls his fictionalized version of Stalin "artistic documentation" in the spirit of reality based on research, personal experience and conversations with others. Yuri Krotkov, a Soviet Georgian, as was Stalin, was a prominent dramatist and screenwriter in the Soviet Union before his defection. As a member of the Russian intelligentsia, he was in the confidence of top-ranking Soviet and party officials in Moscow. Review slip laid in. Foxing to top edge otherwise clean copy.
Hardcover. Boston, Little, Brown and Company, reprint, 1950, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, blue cloth with gilt lettering on spine. Volume III in The History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. 411 pages, illustrated with maps and b&w photos. Gilt on spine with light fading, lacks dust jacket, otherwise clean, tight copy.
Hardcover. NY, Free Press, 1st, 1995, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. 368 pages, b&w illustrations. Neufeld, the curator of World War II history at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., provides a well-written, comprehensively researched analysis of Nazi Germany's missile program and its antecedents. The German army became interested in rocket technology during the 1930s at the urging of Karl Becker, an engineer who believed a radical new weapon could deliver a psychological blow to an enemy. The construction of Peenemunde in 1936-37 provided a focal point for research and development that made guided missiles a reality despite Germany's limited material and scientific resources. Neufeld shows that while the rocket program was not Nazi in origin, its leaders readily compromised themselves by accepting National Socialism, especially in agreeing to the widespread use of slave labor. A more ambiguous legacy of Peenemunde is its rocket technology, which decisively shaped the second half of the 20th century. Clean copy.
Hardcover. Ithaca NY, Cornell University Press, 2nd pr., 2005, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 261 pages, previous owner's signature on front fly leaf. "Evil is the most serious of our moral problems. All over the world cruelty, greed, prejudice, and fanaticism ruin the lives of countless victims. Outrage provokes outrage. Millions nurture seething hatred of real or imagined enemies, revealing savage and destructive tendencies in human nature. Understanding this challenges our optimistic illusions about the effectiveness of reason and morality in bettering human lives. But abandoning these illusions is vitally important because they are obstacles to countering the threat of evil. The aim of this book is to explain why people act in these ways and what can be done about it." The first part of this book is a detailed discussion of six horrible cases of evil: the Albigensian Crusade of about 1210; Robespierre's Terror of 1793?94; Franz Stangl, who commanded a Nazi death camp in 1943?44; the 1969 murders committed by Charles Manson and his "family"; the "dirty war" conducted by the Argentinean military dictatorship of the late 1970s; and the activities of a psychopath named John Allen, who recorded reminiscences in 1975. John Kekes includes these examples not out of sensationalism, but rather to underline the need to hold vividly in our minds just what evil is. The second part shows why, in Kekes's view, explanations of evil inspired by Christianity and the Enlightenment fail to account for these cases and then provides an original explanation of evil in general and of these instances of it in particular.
Softcover. NY, DC Comics, 1st thus, 2022, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, One of the most popular and critically acclaimed graphic novels of all time and illustrated by an exemplary selection of the medium's most gifted artists, Sandman weaves a spellbinding tapestry that fuses modern myth with the timeless narratives of history and folklore. Here, in the domain of the Endless, epic stories unfold stories that transcend the boundaries of life and death. With stunning visuals crafted by a handpicked cadre of the industry's most talented artists, including Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III, and Kelley Jones, with spectacular guest art by Chris Bachalo, Colleen Doran, Charles Vess, and Michael Zulli. Volume 1 spans 'The Sandman' issues #1-20 and collects the pivotal story arcs 'Preludes and Nocturnes,' 'The Doll's House,' and 'Dream Country.' It also includes the historic 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' the first comic book ever to receive the prestigious World Fantasy Award. Clean, bright copy.
Hardcover. Charlottesville, University Press of Virginia, 1st, 1975, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a lightly worn dust jacket, 142 pages. This volume covers the voyage, a few days less than a year in duration, of the clipper ship Sea Serpent around the world in 1854-55, from New York to New York by way of Cape Horn, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. One of the crew, Hugh McCulloch Gregory, better educated than the average seaman of his day, kept a journal in which he made daily entries of events on board.
Softcover. Rochester VT, Park Street Press, 1st thus, 1997, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 288 pages. This groundbreaking survey, originally published in London in 1860, is a radically open-minded look at the use of drugs across the world and throughout the ages. Early users of tobacco in Russia would have their noses cut off and repeat offenders their heads. Pope Innocent XII excommunicated any who used it in St. Peters. Marijuana users in 14th century Egypt would have their teeth extracted for the crime. Yet use of these and other forbidden substances continued to grow. If only as a record of the perennial failure of harsh punishments to deter drug use Victorian naturalist Mordecai Cooke's work The Seven Sisters of Sleep would remain significant. But Cooke's natural humor and keen insights have ensured this work's reputation as possibly the best early book from what has grown into an enormous body of literature on mind- and mood-altering substances. Written at a time, similar to our own, when drug use was being reconsidered, The Seven Sisters of Sleep is a thought-provoking and open-minded look at the use of drugs across the world and throughout the ages. Clean copy.
Hardcover. Cambridge MA, Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press, 1st, 2022, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 406 pages. A bold and beautifully written exploration of the "afterlife" of God, showing how apparently secular habits of mind in fact retain the structure of religious thought. Once in the West, our lives were bounded by religion. Then we were guided out of the darkness of faith, we are often told, by the cold light of science and reason. To be modern was to reject the religious for the secular and rational. In a bold retelling of philosophical history, Michael Rosen explains the limits of this story, showing that many modern and apparently secular ways of seeing the world were in fact profoundly shaped by religion. Clean copy.
Hardcover. Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1st, 1990, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. 321pages, b&w illustrations. The Sharpeville Six were six South African protesters convicted of the murder of Deputy Mayor of Sharpeville, Kuzwayo Jacob Dlamini, and sentenced to death. On September 3, 1984, a protest march in Sharpeville turned violent (some of the crowd threw stones at Dlamimi's house, he responded by firing a gun and a riot ensued and the Deputy Mayor was murdered. Mojalefa Sefatsa, Theresa Ramashamola, Reid Mokoena, Oupa Diniso, Duma Khumalo and Francis Don Mokhesi were arrested in the following months, found guilty of murder under the "Common purpose" doctrine and sentenced to death by hanging on December 12, 1985. Christian Mokubung and Gideon Mokone were also sentenced to eight years in prison. All were represented by lawyer Prakash Diar, the author of this book.