Best of
Roman

1984

Ancient Lives: The Story of the Pharaohs' Tombmakers


John Romer - 1984
    Illustrated with both color photos and black-and-white drawings, this groundbreaking study goes back more than 3,000 years to a village where the workers who created the tombs of the Pharaohs and the Valley of the Kings resided. "John Romer is an archeologist with a genius for raising the busy ghosts of ancient Egypt."--Sunday Times

Maurice's Strategikon: Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy


Maurice - 1984
    In this first complete English translation, the Strategikon is an invaluable source not only for early Byzantine history but for the general history of the art of war. Describing in detail weaponry and armor, daily life on the march or in camp, clothing, food, medical care, military law, and titles of the Byzantine army of the seventh century, the Strategikon offers insights into the Byzantine military ethos. In language contemporary, down-to-earth, and practical, the text also provides important data for the historian, and even the ethnologist, including eyewitness accounts of the Persians, Slavs, Lombards, and Avars at the frontier of the Empire.

The Christians as the Romans Saw Them


Robert L. Wilken - 1984
    The making of a Roman official; Travels of a provincial governor; A Christian association; Offerings of wine & incenseChristianity as a burial society. Church or political club?; A sense of belonging; A Bacchic society; An obscure & secret associationThe piety of the persecutors. Roman religion & Christian prejudice; The practice of religion; "We too are a religious people"Galen: the curiosity of a philosopher. Philosophy & medicine; Christianity as a philosophical school; The practice of philosophy; The arbitrary god of the ChristiansCelsus: a conservative intellectual. Begging priests of Cybele & soothsayers; The deficiencies of Christian doctrine; Demythologizing the story of Jesus; An apostasy from Judaism; Religion & the social orderPorphyry: the most learned critic of all. In defense of Plato; The Jewish scriptures; The Christian New Testament; Philosophy from oracles; The religion of the emperor; Jesus not a magician; An unreasoning faithJulian the Apostate: Jewish law & Christian truth. The emperor's piety; Greek education & Christian values; Against the Galilaeans; The tribal god of Jews & Christians; An apostasy from JudaismEpilogueSuggestions for Further ReaderIndex

The Terrors of Ice and Darkness


Christoph Ransmayr - 1984
    (His second book, The Last World, was published here last year to critical acclaim.) The underlying concerns of this work are primarily literary--creator vs. creation, history vs. fiction, the nature of metaphor, etc.--but here they inform a singularly gripping tale. A nameless and largely invisible narrator recounts the 1981 disappearance of one Josef Mazzini, whose fascination with a 19th-century polar expedition has pulled him north, to the furthest arctic settlements. Accounts of the two journeys intersect and diverge, challenging the notion of history as linear, seducing the reader with startlingly detailed descriptions of polar exploration. Members of the 19th-century expedition, pursuing honor, glory and other vanities, endure two frigid winters when their ship is trapped in ice: their beards freeze, they are blinded by snow and ill with scurvy, but the Bible is read every Sunday. A century later men approach the icy expanse with snowmobiles and Walkmen, undertaking selfinterested scientific projects. This aggressively intelligent narrative transforms the polar regions into unusually fertile ground. - Publishers Weekly

The Rats, Lair, Domain


James Herbert - 1984
    Flesh was ripped away from the back of his neck. He couldn't rise now for the sheer weight of writhing, furry vermin feeding from his body, drinking his blood. Shivers ran along his spine to his shocked brain. The dim shadows seemed to float before him, then a redness ran across his vision. It was the redness of unbelievable pain. He couldn't see any more - the rats had already eaten his eyes.'

The Killing Anniversary


Ian St. James - 1984
    THE PASSION AND TRAGEDY OF DIVIDED IRELAND come vividly to life in this compelling saga of love, hate, power-and revenge.Four families - the Connors, Riordans, Averdales and O'Briens-are majestically chronicled against the historic backdrop of Ireland's bitter struggle for independence.Brilliant journalist Sean Connors, destined to leave the Dublin ghetto to build a broadcasting empire...IRA terrorist Matt Riordan, stripped of home and birthright, learning hatred in the Catholic ghettos of the north...Mark Averdale, ruthless Ulster aristocrat, consumed by hate and by his distorted sexual passions...and beautiful Kate O'Brien, orphaned at an early age and loved by two of the men-four destinies linked by the flames of politics and the human heart igniting in the tragedy that is Ireland today...bound on a collision course to The Killing Anniversary.

Down the Long Wind


Gillian Bradshaw - 1984
    Forced to flee from her dark spells, he journeys to Britian where, with the aid of the sword of light and a horse whcih runs like the wind and never tires, he joins King Arhtur's battle to rid Britain of dark forces. Though defeated for a time - a time of peace and strength in Arthur's Britian - the forces muster again. Their weapon is the tragic love of Gwynhwyfar for Bedwyr, a passion which is to set the stage for the final battle. Complete for the first time in one volume, Gillian Bradshaw's brilliant trilogy recrerates the mystery of Arthur's Britain with breathtaking skill.Contains the full texts of:Hawk of MayIn winters shadowKingdom of Summer

The Great Quarterback Switch


Matt Christopher - 1984
    Unfortunately, because of a tragic accident, Michael must watch from the sidelines as his brother calls the plays on the football field. During one game Michael concentrates very hard on a play he thinks could help the team, and Tom calls the exact play a split second later! Is it coincidence, or can the boys communicate through ESP? The boys try a daring experiment in which they push their telepathic powers to the limit ... and suddenly, impossibly, Michael is running the ball for a spectacular touchdown!

Roman Building: Materials and Techniques


Jean-Pierre Adam - 1984
    It looks at large- scale public buildings as well as more modest homes and shops. Placing emphasis on the technical aspects of the subject, it follows the process of building through each stage -- from quarry to standing wall, from tree to roof timbers -- and how these materials were obtained or manufactured. The author also discusses interior decoration and looks at the practical aspects of water supply, heating and roads.

Constantine and Eusebius


Timothy D. Barnes - 1984
    Barnes gives the fullest available narrative history of the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine. He analyzes Constantine's rise to power and his government, demonstrating how Constantine's sincere adherence to Christianity advanced his political aims. He explores the whole range of Eusebius' writings, especially those composed before Constantine became emperor, and shows that many attitudes usually deemed typical of the "Constantinian revolution" were prevalent before the new Christian empire came into existence. This authoritative political and cultural history of the age of Constantine will prove essential to students and historians of the ancient world.

A Brief Catechesis on Nature and Grace


Henri de Lubac - 1984
    Cardinal de Lubac gives us one of the most lucid expositions on the meaning of grace and its relationship to the order of nature.

Leicestershire and Rutland


Elizabeth Williamson - 1984
    The large and the small Midland counties possess a varied and rewarding range of buildings. Church architecture encompasses the classical Normanton, preserved in remote isolation from the flood of Rutland Water, to Market Harborough with its elegant medieval steeple, and a fine group of Victorian churches in Leicester. The major country houses include Belvoir Castle, Staunton Harold and Burley-on-the-Hill, while the more modest homes of the late nineteenth century include notable work by Ernest Gimson, Voysey and a garden city at Leicester by Parker & Unwin. Leicestershire also possesses fine modern buildings, from its architecturally progressive schools to the justly renowned buildings of Leicester University, dominated by Stirling & Gowan's Engineering Building.