What is art? Why do we value images of saints, kings, goddesses, battles, landscapes or cities from eras of history utterly remote from ourselves? This history of art shows how painters, sculptors and architects have expressed the belief-systems of their age; religious, political and aesthetic.

    The work anticipates directions in postwar thought, structuralism in particular, through its opposition of high and low culture. The only version of Kuki's text - including those in Japanese - to provide full interpretive notes (many based on Kuki's own sources and manuscripts), this book is essential reading for studies in Japanese culture.

    . . . [and] the iconoclastic charm of the artist keeps the pages turning ." -The Washington Post "A definitive life of Francis Bacon. . . . Stevens and Swan are vivid scene setters. . . . Francis Bacon does justice to the contradictions of both the man and the art." -The Boston Globe A decade in the making: the first comprehensive look at the life and art of Francis Bacon, one of the iconic painters of the twentieth century--from the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of de Kooning: An American Master. Francis Bacon created an indelible image of mankind in modern times, and played an outsized role in both twentieth century art and life--from his public emergence with his legendary Triptych 1944 (its images so unrelievedly awful that people fled the gallery), to his death in Madrid in 1992.Bacon was a witty free spirit and unabashed homosexual at a time when many others remained closeted, and his exploits were as unforgettable as his images. He moved among the worlds of London's Soho and East End, the literary salons of London and Paris, and the homosexual life of Tangier. Through hundreds of interviews, and extensive new research, the authors probe Bacon's childhood in Ireland (he earned his father's lasting disdain because his asthma prevented him from hunting); his increasingly open homosexuality; his early design career--never before explored in detail; the formation of his vision; his early failure as an artist; his uneasy relationship with American abstract art; and his improbable late emergence onto the international stage as one of the great visionaries of the twentieth century. In all, Francis Bacon: Revelations gives us a more complete and nuanced--and more international--portrait than ever before of this singularly private, darkly funny, eruptive man and his equally eruptive, extraordinary art. Bacon was not just an influential artist, he helped remake the twentieth-century figure.

    It is also a graphic history of the development of written communication and offers a singular insight into the psychology of the primitive mind.The Book of Signs contains 493 classified and documented illustrations, collected, drawn, and explained by the celebrated typographer Rudolf Koch. Divided into 14 different categories, it includes General Signs, The Cross, Monogram of Christ, Other Christian Signs, Monograms of Medieval Church and State Leaders, Stone Masons' Signs, The Four Elements, Astronomical Signs, Astrological Signs, Botanical Signs, Chemical Signs, House and Holding Marks, Miscellany, and Runes."Provides the contemporary artist with a rich design vocabulary on which to improvise."—Art in Focus."An inspiration to graphic artists everywhere."—Graphis."An artistic and typographical achievement of considerable beauty and worth."—Psychiatric Quarterly.

    In this 148-page hardback they reveal the places that they have got to know and love and show you why Tokyo is the friendliest big city in the world. It’s a guide book that will lead you to the best in culture and new architecture – and a few fun nights out too.The Monocle Travel Guide series reveals our favourite places in each city we cover, from the ideal route for an early-morning run to the best spots for independent retail. Full of surprises and quirks, they also feature detailed design and architecture pages, neighbourhood walks to get you away from the crowds and our favourite places to eat everything be it tasty fast food or something truly celebratory.

    Here is the dramatic - and tragic - story of Versailles and the men and women who made it their home.

    The quick brushstrokes of the Impressionists suited his temperament, as did his heavy use of impasto. This helpful volume shows many of van Gogh's best loved works, including the famous self-portrait with a Bandaged Ear, painted after he had cut off part of his ear in a fit of madness, Sunflowers, which were to him a symbol of power and beneficence, and The Starry Night, a painting which clearly expresses intensity and mental turbulence.

    Helen shares her own roller coaster journey from the initial shock of a surprise separation, the messy months hanging out in her PJs through to the highs of rediscovering online dating, tiny pants, rock-solid female friendships and the glorious joy of just being by herself.With the help of relationship experts and an army of women "who know", Get Divorced, Be Happy will show you that going it alone isn't the end, it is just the beginning, and you will come out the other side, stronger, happier and goddamn sassier than ever before.

    In this compelling study of true crime, Liverpool's most popular author Tom Slemen recounts some of the most intriguing and baffling murders of Merseyside such as:• The baffling case of the Victorian canned corpse• The magistrate's beautiful granddaughter who was killed by a crazed admirer• The condemned man who was hanged twice• Frederick Deeming - the Rainhill psychopath who wiped out his own family and danced on their grave with his next victim• The bizarre link between a South Seas cult and the housewife who was stabbed fourteen times in her Knotty Ash home by a killer who struck under the cover of a fog• The unsolved case of the superintendent and his son who died of gunshot wounds under mysterious circumstances - in a police station• The enigmatic murder of Julia Wallace - and a very credible solution• The only assassination of a British prime minister - by a Liverpool businessman Plus many more fascinating murder cases.This fascinating book is a must for all readers of true crime in general and Liverpudlians and Merseysiders in particular.

    

    Harrowing and heroic, the events of D-Day were recorded in the personal writings of those who were there. Here, Francis Crosby has compiled a comprehensive collection of previously unpublished letters, diaries, photographs, and reminiscences that tell the story of D-Day as it has never been told before.With the use of new international archives, Crosby has culled vivid and detailed eye-witness accounts from each beach, as well as perspectives from land, sea, and air. This fascinating collection includes entries from American, British, and Canadian troops, the Merchant Navy and the Royal Air Force, and newly available German materials. Also included are contemporary and retrospective reactions of women "in the know" and those whom knew from "unofficial sources" of the immediate imminence of the assault.

    

    Local solar system governments, planetary authorities, and large corporations want to increase their size, power, wealth, and authority. They are not shy about the methods they use to achieve these goals. Killing, robbing, and intimidation are accepted methods of persuasion and governance. Slavery is viewed as a money maker with low overhead. The Goldenes Tor Imperial Empire borders a large portion of the Badlands and has long coveted the raw materials and trade possibilities here; they claim the area as their own and continually use their military and commercial might to gradually bring this wild region under their control. The Aurora Empire opposes the Goldenes Tor and maintains a small squadron of Royal Navy ships under Captain Skyler Mallory in the Badlands to dispute their declaration. Raferty Hawkins, captain of the pirate vessel Predator, also has an agenda. He wants to drive out the hated Goths of the Goldenes Tor, rein in the local governments and corporations, and give the natives a chance to live in freedom and control their own destiny. He is quite willing to kill people to achieve these ends. With the dedication of key crewmembers such as Tactical and Baby Doll, the support of Captain Shane Delacruz of the Vindictive, and the crazy Captain Killian O’Hare of the Nemesis, Hawkins has been fighting the oppressive forces in the Badlands for years. But now the ever changing status quo is about to be turned upside down. The Orion Confederation is far away with no interest in the Badlands; however, an Orion squadron crossed Goldenes Tor space and entered the Badlands intent on destroying Mallory’s command as part of a series of broad, sweeping attacks on the Aurora Empire. The Orion squadron and their Goth escort ships make one fatal mistake. They destroy a pirate settlement composed of women and children. Now Raferty Hawkins and the ships of Pirate Flotilla One ally themselves with Captain Mallory in a series of battles with the intruders and their Goth supporters. Two forces of unlikely allies maneuver for advantage across a dark, cold battlefield. The outcome of this campaign will shape the Badlands for decades to come.

    a remarkable story—Leeza Gibbons, NBC-TV • Grippingly told ... a wonderful, powerful book—David Berner, Radio CKNW Vancouver • Reads with the pace of a taut thriller—George Henderson, Gloucestershire Citizen • Mesmerizing—Bob Stall, Vancouver Province. Now revised and updated. The amazing, true story of how medical authorities allow a family doctor to continue practising even after he begins living with a 15-year-old patient—and allegedly has sex with another girl in exchange for giving drugs to her father. The notorious doctor still carries on as before and a third patient complains about infamous conduct—until he silences her by putting out a contract for murder.

    Should they follow cautionary guidelines to return to a major city or take a chance by continuing north through the back country?Thru-hiking from Georgia to Maine on any given year has its own enormous obstacles. What do you eat? Where do you sleep and can you reach your family? In 2020, during a worldwide shutdown these challenges became nearly impossible to overcome. See how rural trail town communities were affected by the pandemic and understand an untold perspective of pursuing your dreams at all costs.Avoiding law enforcement, entering into "closed" federal land and even overcoming death - all while attempting the impossible. With a wife and two daughters at home, the outside world against him and seemingly unreliable information, this epic tale follows Ryan Michael Beck's journey 2,193 miles in pursuit of a dream to thru-hike the entire Appalachian Trail against all odds.