Air - without it, life on Earth would cease to exist. Though not usually seen, its presence is relied upon. At once ethereal and physical, air has been associated with flight and spirit, transcendenc
For the USA, 1945 was a victory not over only the Axis powers, but over the hegemony of European power and culture too. This book explores how, since then, American social and artistic history has sha
`A bold and fascinating series' The Independent"This series...calls itself" a new kind of animal history". It is, splendidly, even brilliantly, so. I have nothing but praise for it' The SpectatorBoth
A great adjustment in human affairs is underway. Political, commercial and cultural life is changing from the centralized, hierarchical and standardized structures of the industrial age to something
Modern Architectures In History`This book is thoroughly researched from wide-ranging archival material, extensively illustrated and knowingly written from an insider's perspective. Spanning from the 1
From Los Angeles to London, Beijing to Bilbao, cities around the world nowadays boast iconic buildings by celebrity 'starchitects' that compete for attention on the skyline and in the media. But in re
In the decades between its debut performance in Paris in 1909 and the death of impresario Sergei Diaghiley in 1929, the Ballets Russes was an unrivalled sensation not only in France but in London, New
With essays by Charles Saumarez Smith, Ludmilla Jordanova, Paul Greenhalgh, Colin Sorensen, Nick Merriman, Stephen Bann, Philip Wright, Norman Palmer and Peter Vergo."A lively and controversial sympos
In Terminal Architecture, Martin Pawley argues that nearly all modern architecture is misconceived. To embrace a genuinely innovative architectural future would entail a radical shift in values and Pa
Restless, protean, fluid, evanescent - despite being a huge challenge to represent visually, water has gained a peculiar significance in the art of the twentieth century. This may be due to the fact t
The pixellated rectangle we spend most of our day staring at in silence is not the television, as many long feared, but the computer - the ubiquitous portal of work and personal lives. The computer is
Alfred Jarry's creation of the monster-tyrant Ubu was a watershed in theratre history: his play Ubu Roi (whose origins lie in his mercilessly ridiculed former schoolmaster) on the Paris stage in Decem
`Art is the most beautiful deception', said French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918). Trained within the traditionalist environment of the Paris Conservatoire, Debussy nonetheless created revolutio
“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” Thus begins Nobel Prize
In Peacock, Christine E. Jackson provides a comprehensive survey of the influence of the peacock in the visual arts of many cultures, and of its role in religion and mythology. She also explores its
Few insects are as universally loathed as the fly. Steven Connor delights in tracking his lowly subject through myth, literature, painting, film and biology. This the first book to give this much mali
When Americans seek an escape from the worries and dilemmas of everyday life, the crystal blue waters and white sands of the Caribbean islands seem like the answer to a prayer. Yet this image of a to
Tourist brochures and travel guides depict Thailand as an exotic country with a rich cultural heritage, strong religious traditions, and a popular monarchy. Historians also contribute to Thailand’s in
Wittgenstein is widely regarded as one of the greatest philosophers since Kant, and his work, private life and historical events intertwine in a fascinating, complex web. Edward Kanterian explores the
From his emergence as the Bohemian 'gymnopediste' of fin-de-siecle Montmartre to his encounters with the Dada movement after World War I, composer Erik Satie famously flaunted convention, His reputati
