. .When the Atlantic Monthly first published an excerpted version of B.R. Myers' polemic—in which he attacked literary giants such as Don Delillo, Annie Proulx, and Cormac McCarthy, quoting their work extensively to accuse them of mindless pretension—it caused a world-wide sensation."A welcome contrarian takes on the state of contemporary American literary prose," said a Wall Street Journal review. "Useful mischief," said Jonathan Yardley in The Washington Post. "Brilliantly written," declared The Times of London.But Myers' expanded version of the essay does more than just attack sanctified literary heavyweights.It also:* Examines the literary hierarchy that perpetuates the status quo by looking at the reviews that the novelists in question received. It also considers the literary award system. "Rick Moody received an O. Henry Award in 1997," Myers observes, "whereupon he was made an O. Henry juror himself. And so it goes."* Showcases Myers' biting sense of wit, as in the new section, "Ten Rules for 'Serious' Writers," and his discussion of the sex scenes in the bestselling books of David Guterson ("If Jackie Collins had written that," Myers says after one example, "reviewers would have had a field day.")* Champions clear writing and storytelling in a wide range of writers, from "pop" novelists such as Stephen King to more "serious" literary heavyweights such as Somerset Maugham. Myers also considers the classics such as Balzac and Henry James, and recommends numerous other undeservedly obscure authors.* Includes an all-new section in which Myers not only considers the controversy that followed the Atlantic essay, but responds to several of his most prominent critics.Published on the one-year anniversary of original Atlantic Monthly essay, the new, expanded A READER'S MANIFESTO continues B.R. Myers' fight on behalf of the American reader, arguing against pretension in so-called "literary" fiction, naming names and brilliantly exposing the literary status quo.

    The book is set in the early to late 1800s, focusing on the artist and his equally strong-willed mother, Rachel Monsanto Pomié Petit Pizzarro.Rachel longs for Paris although her grandparents long ago fled France for St. Thomas, an island in what is now the US Virgin Islands, where Jews could be citizens. Her grandparents brought only an apple tree to remind them of the orchards they once owned. Her father, Moses Monsanto Pomié, tells Rachel stories of Paris often despite the fact he has never been there. Although no one is persecuting them at the moment, the rapidly growing Jewish community on St. Thomas tries to keep a low profile to ensure that things stay that way. Rachel, however, is determined not to be a mouse. She wants to soar like a hawk…   PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book.    Inside this Instaread Summary & Analysis of The Marriage of Opposites • Summary of book • Introduction to the Important People in the book • Analysis of the Themes and Author’s Style  About the Author With Instaread, you can get the summary and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, summarize and analyze it for your convenience.

    He hadn’t even gotten over the loss of his family and now his doctor was telling him his recent aches and pains were cancer. Going in for his first surgery, he was uncertain he could, or even should, face the challenges ahead. When he woke up to find over three hundred years had passed, an entirely new set of challenges lay before him. Discovering where he was, how he got here, and why he was here was just the beginning of a life he thought was all but over. Now he had to fight for the very survival of the human species, a fight that would be centered around “The Freezer”.

    Soon, she encounters kindness, romance, and is pulled into a mystery centered on an old, abandoned church and the death of a special girl. Are the images that only she can see in the church's stained-glass windows a warning, or is someone trying to reach her, to help heal this broken community? Manchester Christmas illustrates how God often uses the most unlikely among us to spread grace and healing in a wounded world. Full of love, hope, and forgiveness, this debut novel from an Emmy-winning writer will touch your heart and have you longing for Christmas in Manchester.

    This book features a vivid and entertaining timeline of his public history, but also focuses on the more personal, nonwork aspects of his day-to-day life, covering topics such as autos, books, cigars, dining, fashion, home, libations, and pastimes. Churchill lived an extravagant life, but in reality did not have much money. His ability to live well beyond his means is a lesson that will intrigue many.Praise for Churchill Style:“Despite the hundreds of books written on the wartime leader, there has been surprisingly little compiled on his lifestyle. Barry Singer—a writer, self-described Churchill fanatic and proprietor of Manhattan's Chartwell Booksellers (which touts itself as "the world's only Winston Churchill bookshop")—has corrected the deficit." —Wall Street Journal "There’s a good deal to like about this jaunty book . . . In brief, Churchill lived beyond his means and appears to have enjoyed every minute of it. Churchill Style puts on display his resourcefulness at doing it." —Buffalo News “Hundreds of books have been written about Winston Churchill, most of which focus on his military service and his leadership during both World Wars, but none assess his personal style like Barry Singer does in Churchill Style: The Art of Being Winston Churchill.” —Cool Hunting.com

    Like its highly successful companion volumes, Art in Theory, 1815–1900 and Art in Theory, 1900–1990, its primary aim is to provide students and teachers with the documentary material for informed and up-to-date study. Its 240 texts, clear principles of organization and considerable editorial content offer a vivid and indispensable introduction to the art of the early modern period.Harrison, Wood, and Gaiger have collected writing by artists, critics, philosophers, literary figures, and administrators of the arts, some reprinted in their entirety, others excerpted from longer works. A wealth of material from French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and Latin sources is also provided, including many new translations.Among the major themes treated are early arguments over the relative merits of ancient and modern art, debates between the advocates of form and color, the beginnings of modern art criticism in reviews of the Salon, art and politics during the French Revolution, the rise of landscape painting, and the artistic theories of Romanticism and Neo-classicism.Each section is prefaced by an essay that situates the ideas of the period in their historical context, while relating theoretical concerns and debates to developments in the practice of art. Each individual text is also accompanied by a short introduction. An extensive bibliography and full index are provided.

    At once melancholic and jubilant, Jackson considers the journey of humanity, with all its foibles, as a sacred pattern of discovery reconciled by art and the imagination. From “The Absurd Man at Fourteen”He punched her again, a woman called the house,some yelling then us out the door leavingthe kitchen phone cord swinging.

    In her first extended study of moral philosophy, Judith Butler offers a provocative outline for a new ethical practice-one responsive to the need for critical autonomy and grounded in a new sense of the human subject.

    As luck would have it, she is then hired as a chaperone for a dashing Duke's younger sister. While it seems to be an easy position for an accomplished woman like her, keeping an eye on the young girl will prove harder than she expected. To make matters more complicated, Alexandra will inevitably find herself falling in love with her charming employee and unable to think of anything else than his captivating eyes... Could Alexandra ignore her growing feelings for the sake of conventional rules? Will true love manage to shine through the emotional whirlwind that has turned her world upside down?Matthew Lammore has been the Duke of Blakeley since the tragic loss of his parents when he was only fifteen. This entire time, the responsibility of taking care of the estate and his beloved sister has fallen upon his shoulders. However, as his sister has reached the age of sixteen, he will need a well educated person to help her prepare for her debut into Society. Luckily for him, he finds the most appropriate woman for this role, who among other talents, seems to also have a heart of gold. Little did he know though that the beautiful chaperone would exceed her role and end up being the breath of fresh air he has longed for, casting light upon his dull life. This doesn't however alter his awareness of how inappropriate it would be for a Duke to fall in love with his own employee. Will Matthew defy social norms and give true love a chance? Or will he turn down the woman of his dreams out of fear of ruining his reputation?The more Matthew and Alexandra fall for each other, the more they realize they are moving towards a tangled labyrinth. As if this wasn't enough, Alexandra's secret past is haunting her and threatening to tear this blossoming romance apart. Will the two soulmates dare to take the leap of real love and have faith in each other? In the end, will they declare their undeniable feelings, or will they be overpowered by the threatening internal and external obstacles?"The Runaway Chaperone" is a historical romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

    Its members included Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr, founder of modern jurisprudence; William James, the father of modern American psychology; and Charles Sanders Peirce, logician, scientist and the founder of semiotics. The club was probably in existence for about nine months. No records were kept. The one thing we know that came out of it was an idea - an idea about ideas. This book is the story of that idea. Holmes, James and Peirce all believed that ideas are not things out there waiting to be discovered but are tools people invent - like knives and forks and microchips - to make their way in the world. They thought that ideas are produced not by individuals, but by groups of individuals - that ideas are social. They do not develop according to some inner logic of their own but are entirely dependent - like germs - on their human carriers and environment. They also thought that the survival of any idea depends not on its immutability but on its adaptability.

    a personal confession of its creator and a kind of involuntary and unperceived memoir.". Stewart affirms this maxim in his colorful reinterpretation of the lives and works of 17th-century philosophers Spinoza and Leibniz. In November 1676, the foppish courtier Leibniz, "the ultimate insider... an orthodox Lutheran from conservative Germany," journeyed to The Hague to visit the self-sufficient, freethinking Spinoza, "a double exile... an apostate Jew from licentious Holland." A prodigious polymath, Leibniz understood Spinoza's insight that "science was in the process of rendering the God of revelation obsolete; that it had already undermined the special place of the human individual in nature." Spinoza embraced this new world. Seeing the orthodox God as a "prop for theocratic tyranny," he articulated the basic theory for the modern secular state. Leibniz, on the other hand, spent the rest of his life championing God and theocracy like a defense lawyer defending a client he knows is guilty. He elaborated a metaphysics that was, at bottom, a reaction to Spinoza and collapses into Spinozism, as Stewart deftly shows. For Stewart, Leibniz's reaction to Spinoza and modernity set the tone for "the dominant form of modern philosophy"—a category that includes Kant, Hegel, Bergson, Heidegger and "the whole 'postmodern' project of deconstructing the phallogocentric tradition of western thought." Readers of philosophy may find much to disagree with in these arguments, but Stewart's wit and profluent prose make this book a fascinating read.

    

    

    "A meditation on what it might mean to be human in an age of ever-accelerating technology"--

    Told through the eyes of the defendant's nine year old brother, "The Lincoln Moon" is more than legal drama. It is a story of family, friends and acts of conscience in troubled times.