. . . A rewarding close-up of Rothko’s . . . experience as a Jewish immigrant.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review Mark Rothko, one of the greatest painters of the twentieth century, was born in the Jewish Pale of Settlement in 1903. He immigrated to the United States at age ten, taking with him his Talmudic education and his memories of pogroms and persecutions in Russia. His integration into American society began with a series of painful experiences, especially as a student at Yale, where he felt marginalized for his origins and ultimately left the school. The decision to become an artist led him to a new phase in his life. Early in his career, Annie Cohen-Solal writes, “he became a major player in the social struggle of American artists, and his own metamorphosis benefited from the unique transformation of the U.S. art world during this time.” Within a few decades, he had forged his definitive artistic signature, and most critics hailed him as a pioneer. The numerous museum shows that followed in major U.S. and European institutions ensured his celebrity. But this was not enough for Rothko, who continued to innovate. Ever faithful to his habit of confronting the establishment, he devoted the last decade of his life to cultivating his new conception of art as an experience, thanks to the commission of a radical project, the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas. Cohen-Solal’s fascinating biography, based on considerable archival research, tells the unlikely story of how a young immigrant from Dvinsk became a crucial transforming agent of the art world—one whose legacy prevails to this day.About Jewish Lives: Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present. In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award.More praise for Jewish Lives: “Excellent.” – New York times “Exemplary.” – Wall St. Journal “Distinguished.” – New Yorker “Superb.” – The Guardian

    A moment that will be defined by the economic trajectories of three key players. A moment whose outcome will have a deep and lasting impact on the way you live. Recent years have seen a dramatic, unprecedented transformation in the landscape of the global economy. And the catalyst of this transformation-destined to create a new economic order that will scarcely resemble that of the last 300 years-is undoubtedly the rise of China and India. Both nations, which represent around 37% of the world's population, have experienced a rapid surge in annual economic growth of 7% to 10% in the last decade alone-a growth rate that is nothing short of miraculous.Just as important as this amazing story are its implications for the United States. Long seen as the central driving force behind the world's economy, the United States is emerging from the greatest recession in more than 80 years. For the first decade of the 21st century, its average per capita income growth was a paltry 0.53% per year. As China and India continue to gain a dominant foothold in the 21st-century marketplace, America's role in it will continue to evolve in unprecedented ways. Knowing what to possibly expect from the future of the global economy presents an enormous opportunity for you to better prepare yourself for the momentous challenges and possibilities of tomorrow. Now you can, with China, India, and the United States: The Future of Economic Supremacy. This provocative six-lecture course, delivered by noted economist and award-winning Professor Peter Rodriguez of the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, is your opportunity to preview what the next few decades of the global economy may look like. Offering you pointed looks at the economic past, present, and possible futures of these three powerful nations, these lectures will have you finally grasping the intricate nature of our world economy and the driving forces responsible for where it will stand in years to come.Get Answers to Pressing Questions about These Economic GiantsIn the last 20 years the incremental economic growth of China and India has been the equivalent of adding another United States to the world economy-and it could happen again in just 12 years, or even fewer. The implications of such a statistic demand to be better understood, and Professor Rodriguez's lectures are the perfect way to witness just how these three economies have gotten where they are today.Central to this course are revealing answers to some of your most pressing questions about the current state of the global economy and its future. How long will the United States remain at the top of the global economic ladder, and what will happen when that time passes? What economic, political, and cultural forces are responsible for China's and India's spectacular growth over the last two decades? When and why might China's and India's rapid annual growth rates slow down? What strategies and policies can these three nations undertake to weather the current global recession? Discover the Future of the 21st-Century Global EconomyIn addition to bringing you up to speed with the economic stories of these three world powers, China, India, and the United States: The Future of Economic Supremacy also provides you with insights into the next decades of the world economy and the new economic order currently being forged. Throughout the lectures, Professor Rodriguez uses his keen economist's eye to report ideas, trends, and possible outcomes you can expect to see as China and India continue to reach (and possibly even supersede) the economic power of the United States.Here are just a few of the many predictions and possibilities you'll explore in depth. China's particular challenge to sustain solid economic growth, more so than the two other countries, will be highly political in nature. India cannot rely solely on information technology to continue growing; rather, it must also achieve global prowess in manufacturing to truly strengthen its internal and external economic power. The United States must reemerge as a global exporter and must retain its preeminent status in financial markets to ensure its near-term economic future. Most important, you'll investigate how the great changes in the coming years will also bring with them a range of benefits and opportunities for each of these three countries. According to Professor Rodriguez, the coming decades of the new global economy will be a bumpy ride, but there is much to remain positive and hopeful about for the United States and the rest of the world.Learn What to Expect-Before Everyone ElseIn addition to being a skilled educator whose awards include Princeton University's Teaching Excellence Award, Professor Rodriguez possesses significant real-world business experience working with multinational companies, including Rolls Royce and Visa. This know-how, combined with his vast knowledge of global macroeconomics and international business, makes him an authoritative guide to this pressing subject and its implications for your future. So join him for this chance to find out, before everyone else, just what to expect from the economies of China, India, and the United States. This course is a piercing look at the economic future being shaped right at this very moment.

    Fischer surveys anthropology, the study of human societies and comparative customs with a special emphasis on pre-capitalist societies and the things which pre-capitalist societies and modern societies have in common.

    This monograph follows Van Gogh between 1886 and 1890, from Holland to Paris, where his palette was brightened with impressionistic colour, to Arles and his still-mysterious friendship with Gauguin.

    Do you look up the lyrics and wonder what they mean or if there is a story behind them? What on earth does “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” mean, anyway? We’ve got those answers for you in The Great Book of Rock Music! This book contains hundreds of riveting facts about your favorite rock songs. Do you want to know how your favorite group got together and who is really the brains behind the band? Whether you’re interested in what your favorite musicians like to do in their spare time, where they get the ideas for their music, or which artist had an exorcism in his home, you’re in for a treat. This book will satisfy your curiosity and help you impress your friends with your rock and roll knowledge. As easy to follow as a good drummer, this book will take you through the early years of rock and its development through the hippie era, the synthesizer-filled eighties, and the grunge age. You’ll read about dramatic, absolutely hilarious, and downright odd moments during the concerts that shaped music history and defined generations. Whether you’re a passive listener of your friend’s rock playlists or a connoisseur of guitar riffs, you’re sure to learn something new that will increase your enjoyment of your favorite music. For an extra challenge, try the quizzes at the end of each chapter. So go ahead, open the cover and enter the world of rock!

    It is a wonderful place to visit and to live in. Packed with fact, anecdote, and insight, A Traveller’s History of Paris offers a complete history of Paris and the people who have shaped its destiny, from its earliest settlement as the Roman village of Lutetia Parisiorum with a few hundred inhabitants, to 20 centuries later when Paris is a city of well over two million—nearly one-fifth of the population of France. This handy paperback is fully indexed and includes a Chronology of Major Events, as well as sections on Notre-Dame and historic churches, Modernism, parks, bridges, cemeteries, museums and galleries, the Metro, and the environs. Illustrated with line drawings and historical maps, this is an invaluable book for all visitors to read and enjoy.

    The sheer number and proximity of works of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Florence can be so overwhelming that Florentine hospitals treat hundreds of visitors each year for symptoms brought on by trying to see them all, an illness famously identified with the French author Stendhal.While most guidebooks offer only brief descriptions of a large number of works, with little discussion of the historical background, Judith Testa gives a fresh perspective on the rich and brilliant art of the Florentine Renaissance in An Art Lover’s Guide to Florence. Concentrating on a number of the greatest works, by such masters as Botticelli and Michelangelo, Testa explains each piece in terms of what it meant to the people who produced it and for whom they made it, deftly treating the complex interplay of politics, sex, and religion that were involved in the creation of those works. With Testa as a guide, armchair travelers and tourists alike will delight in the fascinating world of Florentine art and history.

    Defines and explains various concepts regarding the painter's intentions in order to provide a basis for understanding of a work of art.

    The story intertwines art, politics, historical memory, patriotism, racism, and a fascinating set of characters, from those who fought in the conflict and those who resisted it to politicians at the highest level. At its center are two enduring figures: a young, Asian-American architecture student at Yale whose abstract design won the international competition but triggered a fierce backlash among powerful figures; and Frederick Hart, an innovative sculptor of humble origins on the cusp of stardom. James Reston, Jr., a veteran who lost a close friend in the war and has written incisively about the conflict's bitter aftermath, explores how the debate reignited passions around Vietnam long after the war's end and raised questions about how best to honor those who fought and sacrificed in an ill-advised war. Richly illustrated with photographs from the era and design entries from the memorial competition, A Rift in the Earth is timed to appear alongside Ken Burns's eagerly anticipated PBS documentary, The Vietnam War.

    Best known as one of the world's greatest painters, he sketched the foundations for inventions that would not come to fruition for centuries. Born a bastard in a hillside village in northern Italy, Leonardo became the protégé of princes, popes, and kings. He mastered so many branches of science that scholars still debate whether he was greater as an anatomist, botanist, cartographer, engineer, geographer, or naturalist. Nevertheless, he died unhappy, believing he had failed to work the miracles of which he had dreamed. Here, from New York Times bestselling author Anna Abraham, is his extraordinary story.

    He tells of the Nazi cult of the primeval German forest; the play of Christian and pagan myth in Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers; and the duel between a monumental sculptor and a feminist gadfly on the slopes of Mount Rushmore. The result is a triumphant work of history, naturalism, mythology, and art. "A work of great ambition and enormous intellectual scope...consistently provocative and revealing."--New York Times"Extraordinary...a summary cannot convey the riches of this book. It will absorb, instruct, and fascinate."--New York Review of Books

    Now, the exciting new field of "big history" allows us to explore human civilizations in ways unavailable to historians of previous generations. Big history scholars take a multidisciplinary approach to study great spans of time, unlocking important themes, trends, and developments across time and space.Unlike a traditional survey of history - with its focus on dates and events, kings and battles - The Big History of Civilizations is your chance to apply this cutting-edge historical approach to the epic story of humanity around the world. Taught by acclaimed Professor Craig G. Benjamin of Grand Valley State University, these 36 sweeping lectures trace the story of human civilizations from our emergence as a species, through the agricultural and industrial revolutions, and into the future.It only takes a few minutes of one lecture for you to discover that Big History is an amazing approach to history. Its grand vision will give you powerful new insights into human civilization, and it offers a profound analysis of some of our biggest questions: What makes us human? Where did we come from? And where are we going? There may be no easy answers, but Professor Benjamin takes you on a powerful journey to the limits of our understanding.What differentiates big history from any other field is the way it combines divergent fields, from archaeology and anthropology to ecology and philosophy, and ties them together, allowing you to see patterns of our past, present - and even future. From the just-right "Goldilocks factors" that allow civilizations to emerge to different ways civilizations have emerged across time and around the word, this riveting approach to history offers a multidisciplinary toolkit to tell the story about what makes us human.Listening Length: 17 hours and 49 minutes

    From the Pale Gold (15-0927 TPX) and Almost Mauve (12-2103 TPX) of the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris to the Rust (18-1248 TPX) and Midnight Navy (19-4110 TPX) of the countdown to the Millennium, the 20th century brimmed with color. Longtime Pantone collaborators and color gurus Leatrice Eiseman and Keith Recker identify more than 200 touchstone works of art, products, d cor, and fashion, and carefully match them with 80 different official PANTONE color palettes to reveal the trends, radical shifts, and resurgences of various hues. This vibrant volume takes the social temperature of our recent history with the panache that is uniquely Pantone.

    Complete with maps and illustrations the work reveals the momentous events that were occurring in England during the Dark Ages.

    Over 100 additional new images are integrated into Volume I, and appear online as full size digital images with discussions written by the author. These bonus images are complemented by groundbreaking media support for students including video study tools and a robust eBook.