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Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude: A Casebook
Gene H. Bell-Villada - 2002
Each casebook reprints documents relating to a work's historical context and reception, presents the best critical studies, and, when possible, features an interview with the author. Accessible and informative to scholars, students, and nonspecialist readers alike, the books in this series provide a wide range of critical and informative commentaries on major texts. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude is arguably the most important novel in twentieth-century Latin American literature. This Casebook features ten critical articles on Garcia Marquez's great work. Carefully selected from the most important work on the novel over the past three decades, they include pieces by Carlos Fuentes, Iris Zavala, James Higgins, Jean Franco, Michael Wood, and Gene H. Bell-Villada. Among the intriguing aspects of the work discussed are its mythic dimension, its "magical" side, its representations of women, its relationship with past chronicles of exploration and discovery, its portrayals of Western power and imperialism, its astounding diffusion throughout the globe and the media, and its simple truth-telling, its fidelity to the tangled history of Latin America. The book incorporates several theoretical approaches--historical, feminist, postcolonial; the first English translation of Fuentes's renowned, oft-cited, eight page meditation on the work; a general introduction; and a 1982 interview with Garcia Marquez.
World Radio TV Handbook: The Directory of Global Broadcasting
Jens M. Frost - 1947
Completely revised and updated, this new edition is the most accurate guide to national and international SW, MW, and FM broadcasting available. "The World Radio TV Handbook" is divided into a number of sections covering numerous topics, from National Radio - which looks at the world's domestic radio services, listed by country and including contact details, to International Radio - featuring full facts about all broadcasters transmitting internationally; and from Television Broadcasts - which details the world's main national broadcasters and large regional networks to frequency lists of all MW and international and domestic SW broadcasts. Also included in this revised edition is a reference section that contains listings of international and domestic transmitter sites, standard time and frequency transmissions, DX Club information, as well as other essential print and electronic resources.
The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths
Michael Shermer - 2011
Simply put, beliefs come first and explanations for beliefs follow. The brain, Shermer argues, is a belief engine. From sensory data flowing in through the senses, the brain naturally begins to look for and find patterns, and then infuses those patterns with meaning. Our brains connect the dots of our world into meaningful patterns that explain why things happen, and these patterns become beliefs. Once beliefs are formed the brain begins to look for and find confirmatory evidence in support of those beliefs, which accelerates the process of reinforcing them, and round and round the process goes in a positive-feedback loop of belief confirmation. Shermer outlines the numerous cognitive tools our brains engage to reinforce our beliefs as truths.Interlaced with his theory of belief, Shermer provides countless real-world examples of how this process operates, from politics, economics, and religion to conspiracy theories, the supernatural, and the paranormal. Ultimately, he demonstrates why science is the best tool ever devised to determine whether or not a belief matches reality.
One Long Argument: Charles Darwin and the Genesis of Modern Evolutionary Thought
Ernst W. Mayr - 1991
Its effects on our view of life have been wide and deep. One of the most world-shaking books ever published, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, first appeared in print over 130 years ago, and it touched off a debate that rages to this day.Every modern evolutionist turns to Darwin's work again and again. Current controversies in the life sciences very often have as their starting point some vagueness in Darwin's writings or some question Darwin was unable to answer owing to the insufficient biological knowledge available during his time. Despite the intense study of Darwin's life and work, however, many of us cannot explain his theories (he had several separate ones) and the evidence and reasoning behind them, nor do we appreciate the modifications of the Darwinian paradigm that have kept it viable throughout the twentieth century.Who could elucidate the subtleties of Darwin's thought and that of his contemporaries and intellectual heirs--A. R. Wallace, T. H. Huxley, August Weismann, Asa Gray--better than Ernst Mayr, a man considered by many to be the greatest evolutionist of the century? In this gem of historical scholarship, Mayr has achieved a remarkable distillation of Charles Darwin's scientific thought and his enormous legacy to twentieth-century biology. Here we have an accessible account of the revolutionary ideas that Darwin thrust upon the world. Describing his treatise as "one long argument," Darwin definitively refuted the belief in the divine creation of each individual species, establishing in its place the concept that all of life descended from a common ancestor. He proposed the idea that humans were not the special products of creation but evolved according to principles that operate everywhere else in the living world; he upset current notions of a perfectly designed, benign natural world and substituted in their place the concept of a struggle for survival; and he introduced probability, chance, and uniqueness into scientific discourse.This is an important book for students, biologists, and general readers interested in the history of ideas--especially ideas that have radically altered our worldview. Here is a book by a grand master that spells out in simple terms the historical issues and presents the controversies in a manner that makes them understandable from a modern perspective.
Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud
Robert L. Park - 2000
Along the way, he offers simple and engaging science lessons, proving that you don't have to be a scientist to spot the fraudulent science that swirlsaround us. While remaining highly humorous, this hard-hitting account also tallies the cost: the billions spent on worthless therapies, the tax dollars squandered on government projects that are doomed to fail, the investors bilked by schemes that violate the most fundamental laws of nature. But thegreatest cost is human: fear of imaginary dangers, reliance on magical cures, and above all, a mistaken view of how the world works. To expose the forces that sustain voodoo science, Park examines the role of the media, the courts, bureaucrats and politicians, as well as the scientific community. Scientists argue that the cure is to raise general scientific literacy. But what exactly should a scientifically literate societyknow? Park argues that the public does not need a specific knowledge of science so much as a scientific world view--an understanding that we live in an orderly universe governed by natural laws that cannot be circumvented.
Keith Richards: In His Own Words
Keith Richards - 1994
Rhythm guitarist with The Rolling Stones for over 30 years, he is also famous in his own right as a solo artist.
Dragonlance Dragons of Winter (Dragonlance)
Clark Valentine - 2007
introduced some revolutionary concepts in the game industry. Never before had the D&D rules been used to tell an epic fantasy tale using full-realized pre-generated characters. It was also the first time that roleplaying adventures would match a story being told in fantasy novels on mass-market shelves. Since MWP began publishing DRAGONLANCE game produts for the revised d20 System, the most often-asked question from fans is "When do we get to see the original modules?" By popular demand, we are presenting all-new versions of the classic adventures. The second in the trilogy, Dragons of Winter, continues the epic War of the Lance. The heroes visit the haunted forests of Silvanesti, the landlocked port city of Tarsis, and the mighty stronghold known as the High Clerist's Tower. The adventures are being completely revised, drawing on twenty years of DRAGONLANCE history, incorporating material most recently featured in the Silver Anniversary edition of the adventures. They will include new character statistics featuring the popular Heroes of the Lance.
Debunking 9/11 Myths
David Dunbar - 2006
11, 2001 continue to spread. Now, in a meticulous, scientific and groundbreaking new book, Popular Mechanics puts these rumors to rest. The magazine’s editors analyze the 20 most persistent claims underlying 9/11 conspiracy theories—and conclusively disprove each one. The result is a triumph of hard fact over conspiratorial fantasy.
Radiohead: Hysterical and Useless
Martin Clarke - 1999
Starting with the band's origins in Oxford, journalist Martin Clarke covers the essential points: Radiohead's breakout single "Creep," the pivotal album OK Computer, Thom Yorke's continuing political and artistic evolution, and the band's future. This revised edition includes a close look at how the band escaped the rock straightjacket with Kid A and Amnesiac , as well as their most recent album, Hail to the Thief . Clark also offers an in-depth examination of the outspoken, mysterious Yorke, offering insight into the personal demons the vocalist has battled throughout his career as Radiohead's frontman. An incisive look at one of the world's most beloved, followed musical acts, Radiohead: Hysterical and Useless provides stimulating coverage of a provocative group.
Aloha, Magnum: Larry Manetti's Magnum, P.I. Memories
Larry Manetti - 1999
Aloha Magnum is a chronicle of Larry Manetti's wild childhood, his crazy days in Hollywood, his moonlighting as a prominent restaurateur, and his escapades with the rich, famous, and equally outrageous.
Black Knight: Ritchie Blackmore
Jerry Bloom - 2006
Dubbed the 'man in black', guitarist Ritchie Blackmore found fame with Seventies rock giants Deep Purple, then walked away from them to create Rainbow, only to abandon them and form another band in 1997 - Blackmore's Night.
Weekend Homesteader: July
Anna Hess - 2011
If you need to fit homesteading into a few hours each weekend and would like to have fun while doing it, these projects will be right up your alley, whether you live on a forty-acre farm, a postage-stamp lawn in suburbia, or a high rise.The July volume includes the following projects:
Planting a fall garden
Freezing food
Hanging your clothes out to dry
Making a budget
The second edition has been revised and expanded to match the paperback, with extra photos and feedback from weekend homesteaders just like you, plus permaculture-related avenues for the more advanced homesteader to explore.
The Book of Revelation
Robert H. Mounce - 1977
This contribution to The New International Commentary on the New Testament is a revision of Robert Mounce's original entry on the book of Revelation and reflects more than twenty additional years of mature thought and the latest in scholarship.
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods
Harry Houdini - 1920
Using personal research and observations, Houdini reveals the cunning techniques employed by fire-eaters, sword swallowers, and other masters of deception to mystify and amaze audiences around the world. This classic skeptical work explores and exposes the methods of such "wonders" as "The Incombustible Spaniard," "Defiers of Poisonous Reptiles," and many others. Originally published in the 1920s, Miracle Mongers and Their Methods scrupulously examines the direct predecessors of modern psychics and mentalists."My professional life has been a constant record of disillusion," writes Houdini in his preface, "and many things that seem wonderful to most men are the everyday commonplace in my business. But I have never been without some seeming marvel to pique my curiousity and challenge my investigation. In this book I have set down some of the stories of strange folk and unusual performers that I have gathered in many years of such research."The greatest magician of his time, Houdini baffled experts and amateurs alike with his sensational and dangerous feats. Houdini attained worldwide fame during his lifetime for his daring escapes from strait-jackets, jails, underwater chambers, and a variety of "escape-proof" devices. Throughout his career, Houdini insisted that all of his feats could be rationally explained and boldly exposed the methods of those claiming supernatural powers.The ever present fascination with psychics and miracle mongers makes this book as timely as when it was originally written.