Book picks similar to
Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea by Daniel Finamore
archaeology
genomics-anthropology
essays
mythoman
Landscapes: John Berger on Art
John Berger - 2016
As a master storyteller and thinker John Berger challenges readers to rethink their every assumption about the role of creativity in our lives.In this brilliant collection of diverse pieces—essays, short stories, poems, translations—which spans a lifetime’s engagement with art, Berger reveals how he came to his own unique way of seeing. He pays homage to the writers and thinkers who infuenced him, such as Walter Benjamin, Rosa Luxemburg and Bertolt Brecht. His expansive perspective takes in artistic movements and individual artists—from the Renaissance to the present—while never neglecting the social and political context of their creation.Berger pushes at the limits of art writing, demonstrating beautifully how his artist’s eye makes him a storyteller in these essays, rather than a critic. With “landscape” as an animating, liberating metaphor rather than a rigid defnition, this collection surveys the aesthetic landscapes that have informed, challenged and nourished John Berger’s understanding of the world. Landscapes—alongside Portraits—completes a tour through the history of art that will be an intellectual benchmark for many years to come.
Unwelcomed Songs: Collected Lyrics 1980-1992
Henry Rollins - 2002
A must for all Rollins fans.
Good Day!: The Paul Harvey Story
Paul J. Batura - 2009
Millions grew up listening to Paul Harvey News and Comment and The Rest of the Story, and trusted the great man who spoke for the little guy. Good Day! by Paul J. Batura follows the remarkable life of one of the founding fathers of the news media. Paul Harvey started his career during the Great Depression and narrated America's story day by day, through wars and peace, the threat of communism and the crumbling of old colonial powers, consumer booms and eventual busts. In Good Day!, you'll follow,* How he became "Paul Harvey"* The remarkable adversity he confronted in his early years* How he revolutionized the radio industry with his wife, Evelyn* How a president wanted to "roast" him "good"* How he was nearly jailed for pursuing a scoop Paul J. Batura's Good Day! is a colorful biography of the radio pioneer-turned-legend whose guiding light saw the country through dark times. Whether he was covering racial tensions, terrorist attacks, or which vitamins to take, Paul Harvey articulated the American experience for average people making their way in a world too large for quick comprehension. Harvey brought them that world "in dime store words," with a sense of optimism and faith, and with a deep love for America. Here is Harvey's story, the rest of the story, as he would tell it himself.
Sun, Moon and Earth
Robin Heath - 1999
We all dance to these primary rhythms. This book reveals the poetic cosmology that lies within the cycles of the Sun and Moon as seen from the Earth.
Stealing History: Tomb Raiders, Smugglers, and the Looting of the Ancient World
Roger Atwood - 2004
He knows where priceless antiquities are buried, who is digging them up, and who is fencing and buying them. In this fascinating book, Atwood takes readers on a journey through Iraq, Peru, Hong Kong, and across America, showing how the worldwide antiquities trade is destroying what's left of the ancient sites before archaeologists can reach them, and thus erasing their historical significance. And it is getting worse. The discovery of the legendary Royal Tombs of Sipan in Peru started an epidemic. Grave robbers scouring the courntryside for tombs--and finding them. Atwood recounts the incredible story of the biggest piece of gold ever found in the Americas, a 2,000-year-old, three-pound masterpiece that cost one looter his life, sent two smugglers to jail, and wrecked lives from Panama to Pennsylvainia. Packed with true stories, this book not only reveals what has been found, but at what cost to both human life and history.
O'Keeffe and Stieglitz: An Amerian Roman
Benita Eisler - 1991
Thus began the romance of the most dynamic, productive and famous couple in American art. 8 pages of full-color photographs; 40 black-and-white photographs.
The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist
Alvin BuenaventuraChip Kidd - 2012
In the late 1980s his groundbreaking comic book series Eightball defined indie culture with wit, venom, and even a little sympathy. With each successive graphic novel (Ghost World, David Boring, Ice Haven, Wilson, Mister Wonderful ), Clowes has been praised for his emotionally compelling narratives that reimagine the ways that stories can be told in comics. The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist is the first monograph on this award-winning, New York Times–bestselling creator, compiled with his complete cooperation. It includes all of Clowes’s best-known illustrations as well as rare and previously unpublished work, all reproduced from the original art, and also includes essays by noted contributors such as designer Chip Kidd and cartoonist Chris Ware.Praise for The Art of Daniel Clowes:"Even if you're not an avid reader of [Clowes’s] books and strips (your loss), this volume will entice and entertain." —The Atlantic"The real selling point of Modern Cartoonist is the art . . . some of which [has] been little-seen even by die-hard Clowes fans." —A.V. Club “This excellent retrospective of his work from the late 1980s onward, edited by Alvin Buenaventura, showcases his visual gifts and always evolving style; his beautiful early stuff looks nothing like his beautiful later stuff.” —Newsday “A perfect introduction.” —NPR.org“One of the greatest cartoonists of the past several decades finally gets his due.” —The Washington Post
When Rocks Cry Out
Horace Butler - 2002
Uncovered ancient maps and writings show the real ruins of four of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World that were thought to have vanished from the earth. The secrets hidden within those Wonders explode the very foundations of what we thought we knew about the world and where we had come from. Listed by the Dallas Community Colleges as a "must read," WHEN ROCKS CRY OUT ties together riddles from the Old Testament with ruins of abandoned cities that are thousands of years old...and thousands of miles away from where we thought those cities would be. Often reading like a page-turning novel, this could be one of the most important books written in the last 500 years. From the discovery of Egypt's lost ancient capital, Memphis, to a stunning hidden burial city built by the Pharaohs, to the secret ruins of King David's famed city, this book moves past recent promises about 'codes' and brings you to the real-life secret that was the explosive reason for the creation of the codes. Da Vinci's Code? Solomon's Key? Those clever puzzles can't reach the significance of the mysteries unraveled in this book. And the things in this book are real! WHEN ROCKS CRY OUT...it is a book for those who have reached a point in their life when they just want to know the truth. Finally, we can trace where our 'blood' has been and what our 'blood' has done.
Striped Pears and Polka Dots: The Art of Being Happy
Kirsten Sevig - 2018
She paints rainbow-colored rooftops, striped pears, birds in hats, teacups, cats, and more—all drawn to bring joy to anyone who views them. When the weather is rainy and gray, Sevig paints herself some sunshine. When she feels sad, she paints something colorful to cheer herself up; when anxious, something soothing and repetitive; when overwhelmed, she makes a series of small decisions about what to put on the page and begins to feel empowered.In Striped Pears and Polka Dots, Sevig invites readers into her cozy, sunny world of snail mail, patterned socks and knitted sweaters, ice cream and flaky croissants, and dachshunds in sweaters. This perfect gift book will inspire readers to look around and notice all the little happy-makers that surround them in their daily lives.
Hidden Treasures: Searching for Masterpieces of American Furniture
Joan Barzilay Freund - 2000
On Antiques Roadshow, experts tell people whether they have a "match" and are in possession of a valuable antique or simply have another run-of-the-mill object. Leigh and Leslie Keno, the twin-brother experts who appear on Antiques Roadshow, have now written a book chronicling their history of discovering rare antiques -- Hidden Treasures: Searching for Masterpieces of American Furniture.These brothers have literally spent a lifetime learning about antiques. By the time the boys were 12, they were already dealers and were more than a bit familiar with the world of flea markets, tag sales, and antique shops. Having been raised in a home where they learned that the intrinsic value of an antique lies in its rarity and beauty, the brothers took that knowledge and built a life around what quickly became an obsession.In Hidden Treasures the Kenos' passion is not explained in a dry, academic lecture; instead, they detail some of the most exciting antiques hunts they've had. Although they are both obviously experts, there are still pieces that experts can question or pass over because years of refinishing and reupholstering have disguised the original design. Sometimes even experts can feel like they're on the other side of the table at Antiques Roadshow. In Hidden Treasures the Kenos face some trials, but their skill and determination always leads them to success.The brothers, who alternate writing chapters, don't simply want to tell readers about the fun they have -- they want the readers to understand antiques. Hidden Treasures is filled with photographs of the rare and beautiful pieces discussed in the text. Many of the pieces are shown in a series of photographs to explain exactly why those pieces are works of such incredible craftsmanship.Reading Hidden Treasures will not turn someone into the experts that Leigh and Leslie are. But it does allow for a much greater understanding of the antiques world that they love. They teach readers to appreciate the beauty that can transform an everyday object into a work of art, and in doing so, they teach readers to keep their eyes open to the beauty that people miss every day.
Across Atlantic Ice: The Origin of America's Clovis Culture
Dennis J. Stanford - 2012
Distinctive stone tools belonging to the Clovis culture established the presence of these early New World people. But are the Clovis tools Asian in origin? Drawing from original archaeological analysis, paleoclimatic research, and genetic studies, noted archaeologists Dennis J. Stanford and Bruce A. Bradley challenge the old narrative and, in the process, counter traditional—and often subjective—approaches to archaeological testing for historical relatedness. The authors apply rigorous scholarship to a hypothesis that places the technological antecedents of Clovis in Europe and posits that the first Americans crossed the Atlantic by boat and arrived earlier than previously thought. Supplying archaeological and oceanographic evidence to support this assertion, the book dismantles the old paradigm while persuasively linking Clovis technology with the culture of the Solutrean people who occupied France and Spain more than 20,000 years ago.
The Heart of Things: A Midwestern Almanac
John Hildebrand - 2014
Life is more complicated than that." " In this remarkable book of days, John Hildebrand charts the overlapping rings--home, town, countryside--of life in the Midwest. Like E. B. White, Hildebrand locates the humor and drama in ordinary life: church suppers, Friday night football, outdoor weddings, garden compost, family reunions, roadside memorials, camouflage clothing. In these wry, sharply observed essays, the Midwest isn't The Land Time Forgot but a more complicated (and vastly more interesting) place where the good life awaits once we figure exactly out what it means. From his home range in northwestern Wisconsin, Hildebrand attempts to do just that by boiling down a calendar year to its rich marrow of weather, animals, family, home--in other words, all the things that matter.
Cochineal Red: Travels Through Ancient Peru
Hugh Thomson - 2006
Now he takes the reader on a journey back from the world of the Incas to the first dawn of Andean civilisation, to give an immensely personal and accessible guide to the wonders that have been revealed.Note that 'Cochineal Red' was published as 'A Sacred Landscape' in the US. Aside from the title change, they are the same book.
On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection
Susan Stewart - 1984
Originally published in 1984 (Johns Hopkins University Press), and now available in paperback for the first time, this highly original book draws on insights from semiotics and from psychoanalytic, feminist, and Marxist criticism. Addressing the relations of language to experience, the body to scale, and narratives to objects, Susan Stewart looks at the "miniature" as a metaphor for interiority and at the "gigantic" as an exaggeration of aspects of the exterior. In the final part of her essay Stewart examines the ways in which the "souvenir" and the "collection" are objects mediating experience in time and space.
La Capital: The Biography of Mexico City
Jonathan Kandell - 1988
The countless individuals, both famous and unknown, who shaped Mexico' history come alive . . . they prosper, decline, and rise again before being extinguished by political and social upheavals beyond their control.