His books have won every major history award--including the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award--and he has been universally praised for his prodigious research, his brilliant analytical skill, and his rich and powerful prose. Now, in Inhuman Bondage, Davis sums up a lifetime of insight in what Stanley L. Engerman calls "a monumental and magisterial book, the essential work on New World slavery for several decades to come." Davis begins with the dramatic Amistad case, which vividly highlights the international character of the Atlantic slave trade and the roles of the American judiciary, the presidency, the media, and of both black and white abolitionists. The heart of the book looks at slavery in the American South, describing black slaveholding planters, the rise of the Cotton Kingdom, the daily life of ordinary slaves, the highly destructive internal, long-distance slave trade, the sexual exploitation of slaves, the emergence of an African-American culture, and much more. But though centered on the United States, the book offers a global perspective spanning four continents. It is the only study of American slavery that reaches back to ancient foundations (discussing the classical and biblical justifications for chattel bondage) and also traces the long evolution of anti-black racism (as in the writings of David Hume and Immanuel Kant, among many others). Equally important, it combines the subjects of slavery and abolitionism as very few books do, and it illuminates the meaning of nineteenth-century slave conspiracies and revolts, with a detailed comparison with 3 major revolts in the British Caribbean. It connects the actual life of slaves with the crucial place of slavery in American politics and stresses that slavery was integral to America's success as a nation--not a marginal enterprise. A definitive history by a writer deeply immersed in the subject, Inhuman Bondage offers a compelling narrative that links together the profits of slavery, the pain of the enslaved, and the legacy of racism. It is the ultimate portrait of the dark side of the American dream. Yet it offers an inspiring example as well--the story of how abolitionists, barely a fringe group in the 1770s, successfully fought, in the space of a hundred years, to defeat one of human history's greatest evils.

    

    Some pictures are easily appreciated at first glance, but others - often the most rewarding - require some explanation before they can be fully understood. This clearly written and enjoyable book is intended to increase pleasure and stimulate thought. It tackles many aspects of looking at paintings as well. Starting with familiar ideas, Dr Susan Woodford moves on to explore subtler, less obvious concepts. For example, she shows how paintings can be appreciated as patterns on a flat surface emotional effect; how ordinary objects can conceal hidden meanings and how knowledge of tradition improves our understanding of revolutionary works.

    The rumors are convincing enough to have inspired a handful of scientific expeditions over the years, including a recent solo effort by American explorer and cryptozoologist Rory Nugent. After a ritual exorcism in Brazzaville, Nugent made his way by plane, boat, and foot to the lake's muddy shores, an environment little changed since the age of the dinosaurs. Paddling and trekking for weeks, living on snakes and snails, he finally spotted a brontosaurus-like shape far across the water. But when he tried to get closer, his guides ordered him back at gunpoint, explaining that "the god can approach man, but man never approaches the god."

    Why has Christianity, a religion premised upon neighborly love, failed in its attempts to heal social divisions?  In this ambitious and wide-ranging work, Willie James Jennings delves deep into the late medieval soil in which the modern Christian imagination grew, to reveal how Christianity’s highly refined process of socialization has inadvertently created and maintained segregated societies.   A probing study of the cultural fragmentation—social, spatial, and racial—that took root in the Western mind, this book shows how Christianity has consistently forged Christian nations rather than encouraging genuine communion between disparate groups and individuals.Weaving together the stories of Zurara, the royal chronicler of Prince Henry, the Jesuit theologian Jose de Acosta, the famed Anglican Bishop John William Colenso, and the former slave writer Olaudah Equiano, Jennings narrates a tale of loss, forgetfulness, and missed opportunities for the transformation of Christian communities.  Touching on issues of slavery, geography, Native American history, Jewish-Christian relations, literacy, and translation, he brilliantly exposes how the loss of land and the supersessionist ideas behind the Christian missionary movement are both deeply implicated in the invention of race.Using his bold, creative, and courageous critique to imagine a truly cosmopolitan citizenship that transcends geopolitical, nationalist, ethnic, and racial boundaries, Jennings charts, with great vision, new ways of imagining ourselves, our communities, and the landscapes we inhabit.

    At the end of each visit, photographer and family collaborated on a remarkable portrait of the family members outside their home, surrounded by all of their possessions—a few jars and jugs for some, an explosion of electronic gadgetry for others. Vividly portraying the look and feel of the human condition everywhere on Earth, this internationally acclaimed bestseller puts a human face on the issues of population, environment, social justice, and consumption as it illuminates the crucial question facing our species today: Can all six billion of us have all the things we want?

    He's exhausted by being at once too black and not black enough for his African American peers and worn down by the expectations of his own Liberian family and community. When his frustration finally spills into violence and his parents send him back to Monrovia to reform school, the story shifts. Like Kollie, readers travel back to Liberia, but also back in time, to the early twentieth-century and the point of view of Togar Somah, an eighteen-year-old indigenous Liberian on the run from government militias that would force him to work the plantations of the Congo people, descendants of the African-American slaves who colonized Liberia almost a century earlier. When Togar's section draws to a shocking close, the novel jumps again, back to America in 1827, to the children of Yasmine Wright, who leave a Virginia plantation with their mother for Liberia, where they're promised freedom and a chance at self-determination by the American Colonization Society. The Wrights begin their section by fleeing the whip and by its close, they are then ones who wield it. With each new section, the novel uncovers fresh hope and resonating heartbreak, all based on historical fact.In Dream Country, Shannon Gibney spins a riveting tale of the nightmarish spiral of death and exile connecting America and Africa, and of how one determined young dreamer tries to break free and gain control of her destiny.

    'You're always leaning out of the windows and taking photographs when I tell you not to.'In an age of plastic knives on planes, Tony Wheeler can make the extraordinary claim of having visited all the rogue countries currently on newsreaders' lips. Bad Lands is a witty first-hand account of his travels through places often perceived as having some of the most repressive and dangerous regimes in the world: Afghanistan, Albania, Burma, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea and Saudi Arabia. Taking into account each country's attitude to human rights, terrorism and foreign policy, he asks 'what makes a country truly evil?' and 'how bad is really bad?' - all the while engaging with a colourful cast of locals and hapless tour guides, ruminating on history and debunking popular myths.Written by the founder of Lonely Planet, this fascinating account of life in these closed-off countries will appeal to anyone with an interest in the state of the world today.

    They explain what jazz is, where it came from, and who created it and why, all within the broader context of American life and culture. Emphasizing its African American roots, Jazz traces the history of the music over the last hundred years. From ragtime and blues to the international craze for swing, from the heated protests of the avant-garde to the radical diversity of today’s artists, Jazz describes the travails and triumphs of musical innovators struggling for work, respect, and cultural acceptance set against the backdrop of American history, commerce, and politics. With vibrant photographs by legendary jazz chronicler Herman Leonard, Jazz is also an arresting visual history of a century of music.

    series.Fifty Fashion Looks that Changed the 1950s showcases fifty iconic outfits from one of fashion's most influential and exciting decades. From the bombshell glamour of Marilyn Monroe in How to Marry a Millionnaire to the emergence of teenage style, via the sculptural forms of Christian Dior's New Look and Balenciaga's double A-line, this elegant sourcebook celebrates all the looks that revolutionized fashion. With Paula Reed's lively and informative text and a wealth of fabulous photography, this book will be required reading for design students, collectors of vintage and all those who love fashion.

    They are the visions of the Irezumi, the legendary tattoo artists, who spend years creating living masterpieces. Photographer Sandi Fellman describes this strange and violent world both in her text and in her stunning, large 20 x 24 inch Polaroid photographs.

    With its larger-than-normal image sensor, superior image quality, and impressive array of features for creative photography, this camera has attracted a large and dedicated following in the photography community. However, the camera does not come with a printed manual, or even a PDF manual that can readily be printed for reference. So, until now, it has been difficult for users of the camera to find answers to their questions about the use of the camera’s many controls, menus, and features.With the release of this new book, White Knight Press has provided users of the RX100 with a comprehensive guide to all operations, features, menus, and controls of this amazing camera. Using a patient, tutorial-like approach, the book provides guidance to beginning and intermediate photographers not only about how to accomplish things with the RX100, but when and why to use the camera’s many features. The book does not assume any specialized knowledge by the reader as it explains topics such as autofocus, manual focus, depth of field, aperture priority, shutter priority, exposure compensation, white balance, and ISO sensitivity. The book also provides full details of the camera’s numerous menu options for playback, setup, and customizing the operation of the various buttons and other controls.The book’s more than 300 photographs, most of them in full color when viewed on a color device, illustrate the RX100’s controls, shooting screens, and menus. The photographs also provide examples of the various types of photographs that can be taken using the many creative settings of the camera, including the Photo Creativity settings, which let the photographer alter the color processing of images; the Scene shooting mode, with settings that are optimized for various subjects, including landscapes, portraits, and action shots; the Creative Style and Picture Effect menu options, which offer dramatic options for altering the appearance of images; and the camera’s strong array of features for continuous shooting and shooting in dim lighting.In addition, the book goes beyond the bounds of everyday photography, and provides introductions to more advanced topics such as infrared photography, street photography, astrophotography, and macro photography.The book also includes a full discussion of the video recording abilities of the RX100, which can shoot high-definition (HD) video with stereo sound, and which offers manual control of exposure and focus during movie recording.In three appendices, the book provides information about accessories available for the RX100, including cases, external flash units, and filter adapters, and includes a list of web sites and other resources for further information. Also, the book includes a detailed appendix with helpful “quick tips” that give particular insights into how to take advantage of the camera’s features in the most efficient ways possible.

    If you don’t have a particular ingredient to hand, don’t be afraid to experiment – who knows, you may come up with something new and delicious! (If you do, be sure to write and let me know!) I’ve included a selection of my favourites – simple, tasty and wholesome treats that never fail to please. Oh, and of course, I couldn't resist writing a story to accompany the recipes... Enjoy! Sara Alexi

    Passionately argued, brilliantly written, and filled with Paglia’s trademark audacity, Glittering Images takes us on a tour through more than two dozen seminal images, some famous and some obscure or unknown—paintings, sculptures, architectural styles, performance pieces, and digital art that have defined and transformed our visual world. She combines close analysis with background information that situates each artist and image within its historical context—from the stone idols of the Cyclades to an elegant French rococo interior to Jackson Pollock’s abstract Green Silver to Renée Cox’s daring performance piece Chillin’ with Liberty. And in a stunning conclusion, she declares that the avant-garde tradition is dead and that digital pioneer George Lucas is the world’s greatest living artist. Written with energy, erudition, and wit, Glittering Images is destined to change the way we think about our high-tech visual environment.

    It highlights nearly 250 eating spots—sno-cone stands and food carts as well as famous restaurants—and spins tales of the city’s food lore, such as the controversial history of gumbo and the Shakespearean drama of restaurateur Owen Brennan and his heirs.Both first-time visitors and seasoned travelers will be helped by a series of appendixes that list restaurants by cuisine, culinary classes and tours, food festivals, and indispensable “best of” lists chosen by an A-list of the city’s food writers and media personalities, including Poppy Tooker, Lolis Eric Elie, Ian McNulty, Sara Roahen, Marcelle Bienvenu, Amy C. Sins, and Liz Williams.