A witty, personal and entertaining reflection on the history and meaning of paper during the (passing) era of its universal importance. Paper serves nearly every function of our lives. It is the technology with which we have made sense of the world. Yet the age of paper is ending. Ebooks now outsell their physical counterparts. Still, there are some uses of paper that seem unlikely to change – Christmas won’t be Christmas without wrapped presents or crackers. And the language of paper – documents, files and folders – has survived digitisation. In ‘Paper: An Elegy’ Ian Sansom builds a museum of paper and explores its paradox – its vulnerability and durability.

The course of a celebrity marriage never did run smooth… Gemma Heath has finally managed to get her rock-star husband Dominic to settle down – and she has the ring to prove it! But when she sees photos of her brand-new husband escaping on his private jet with the latest pop sensation, Gemma can’t help but assume the worst: once a cheater, always a cheater… …but that doesn’t mean you can’t look fabulous! So when her old flame Jack Hawkins resurfaces, Gemma can’t resist engaging in some extra-marital flirtation of her own – purely for revenge purposes, of course. But she wasn’t prepared for her old attraction for bad-boy Jack to resurface! Gemma has a decision to make – and running away from her problems has never been her style. Especially not when she’s in sky-high stilettos! Love, Lies and Louboutins is the second book in Katie Oliver's fabulous 'Marrying Mr Darcy' series, to be followed in March by Manolos in Manhattan. Also by Katie Oliver: The Dating Mr Darcy series: Prada and Prejudice Love and Liability Mansfield Lark The Marrying Mr Darcy series: And the Bride Wore Prada and, coming soon, Manolos in Manhattan

A REVISED AND UPDATED EBOOK EDITION WITH ALL NEW READERS’ DODOS! We’ve all heard of the list of endangered animals, but no one has ever pulled together a list of endangered inanimate objects. Until now, that is. Steve Stack has catalogued well over one hundred objects, traditions, cultural icons and, well, other stuff that is at risk of extinction. Some of them have vanished already. Cassette tapes, rotary dial phones, half-day closing, milk bottle deliveries, Concorde, handwritten letters, typewriters, countries that no longer exist, white dog poo… …all these and many more are big a fond farewell in this nostalgic, and sometimes irreverent, trip down memory lane.

Apariia n 1948 a primei reviste romneti n exil, la Paris, intitulat de creatorii ei, Virgil Ierunca i Mircea Eliade, Luceafrul“, a venit dup ce tvlugul sovietic reuise s anihileze n ar Romnia politic, iar pe cea spiritual parial, ducnd, dup cum spunea Julien Benda, la trdarea crturarilor. Reacia la aceast stare a venit, aa dup cum era i firesc, din partea unor intelectuali exilai i cu precdere a lui Virgil Ierunca, unul dintre cei doi componeni a ceea ce putem denumi instituia Lovinescu – Ierunca“. Acest cuplu a tiut s prezerve valorile romneti i nu numai pe cele spirituale, s anime, s conving, s scoat din inerie pe acei intelectuali romni exilai care i cutau menirea n acea lume care, pe atunci, nu oferea, ca mai trziu, linitea interioar att de necesar creaiei. Ierunca a fost deseori cel care l-a mpins pe Mircea Eliade s nu rmn ancorat ntr-o literatur de mrturii, ci ntr-o via activ de creaie, de cutri. Volumul de fa, care ne restituie“ Luceafrul“, se datoreaz meritului deosebit al autorilor Mihaela Albu i Dan Anghelescu.Studiul efectuat cu ntreaga dragoste i acribie a cercetatorului ne dezvluie, cu rafinament, ndeosebi o cunoatere aprofundat a simirilor celor care, cu 60 de ani n urm, nu abdicaser de la datorie. Impresioneaz nu numai relatarea faptic, dar i bogia cu care cei doi autori pun n relaie imensul lor bagaj cultural cu ceea ce au produs cu o jumtate de secol n urm autorii Luceafrului“.“ (Dinu Zamfirescu)

TRAVELERS who go into Scotland take a great interest in visiting, among other places, a certain room in the ruins of an old palace, where Queen Mary was born. Queen Mary was very beautiful, but she was very unfortunate and unhappy. Every body takes a strong interest in her story, and this interest attaches, in some degree, to the room where her sad and sorrowful life was begun.??The palace is near a little village called Linlithgow. The village has but one long street, which consists of ancient stone houses. North of it is a little lake, or rather pond: they call it, in Scotland, a loch. The palace is between the village and the loch; it is upon a beautiful swell of land which projects out into the water. There is a very small island in the middle of the loch and the shores are bordered with fertile fields. The palace, when entire, was square, with an open space or court in the center. There was a beautiful stone fountain in the center of this court, and an arched gateway through which horsemen and carriages could ride in. The doors of entrance into the palace were on the inside of the court.??The palace is now in ruins. A troop of soldiers came to it one day in time of war, after Mary and her mother had left it, and spent the night there: they spread straw over the floors to sleep upon. In the morning, when they went away, they wantonly set the straw on fire, and left it burning, and thus the palace was destroyed. Some of the lower floors were of stone; but all the upper floors and the roof were burned, and all the wood-work of the rooms, and the doors and window-frames. Since then the palace has never been repaired, but remains a melancholy pile of ruins.??The room where Mary was born had a stone floor. The rubbish which has fallen from above has covered it with a sort of soil, and grass and weeds grow up all over it. It is a very melancholy sight to see.

SOME men are renowned in history on account of the extraordinary powers and capacities which they exhibited in the course of their career, or the intrinsic greatness of the deeds which they performed. Others, without having really achieved any thing in itself very great or wonderful, have become widely known to mankind by reason of the vast consequences which, in the subsequent course of events, resulted from their doings. Men of this latter class are conspicuous rather than great. From among thousands of other men equally exalted in character with themselves, they are brought out prominently to the notice of mankind only in consequence of the strong light reflected, by great events subsequently occurring, back upon the position where they happened to stand.??The celebrity of Romulus seems to be of this latter kind. He founded a city. A thousand other men have founded cities; and in doing their work have evinced perhaps as much courage, sagacity, and mental power as Romulus displayed. ?The city of Romulus, however, became in the end the queen and mistress of the world. It rose to so exalted a position of influence and power, and retained its ascendency so long, that now for twenty centuries every civilized nation in the western world have felt a strong interest in every thing pertaining to its history, and have been accustomed to look back with special curiosity to the circumstances of its origin. ??In consequence of this it has happened that though Romulus, in his actual day, performed no very great exploits, and enjoyed no pre-eminence above the thousand other half-savage chieftains of his class, whose names have been long forgotten, and very probably while he lived never dreamed of any extended fame, yet so brilliant is the illumination which the subsequent events of history have shed upon his position and his doings, that his name and the incidents of his life have been brought out very conspicuously to view, and attract very strongly the attention of mankind.??The history of Rome is usually made to begin with the story of ?neas. In order that the reader may understand in what light that romantic tale is to be re-garded, it is necessary to premise some statements in respect to the general condition of society in ancient days, and to the nature of the strange narrations, circulated in those early periods among mankind, out of which in later ages, when the art of writing came to be introduced, learned men compiled and recorded what they termed history.

The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788. A compilation of these and eight others, called The Federalist, was published in 1788 by J. and A. McLean. The Federalist Papers serve as a primary source for interpretation of the Constitution, as they outline the philosophy and motivation of the proposed system of government. The authors of the Federalist Papers wanted to both influence the vote in favor of ratification and shape future interpretations of the Constitution. According to historian Richard B. Morris, they are an "incomparable exposition of the Constitution, a classic in political science unsurpassed in both breadth and depth by the product of any later American writer."

“Midsummer Night's Dream” is Shakespeare's classic tale of two couples who can't quite pair up to everyone's satisfaction. Demetrius and Lysander love Hermia. ??Hermia loves Lysander but has been promised to Demetrius by her father. Hermia's best friend Helena loves Demetrius, but in his obsession for Hermia Demetrius barely even notices her smitten friend. ??When Hermia and Lysander plan to elope all four find themselves in the forest late at night where the fairy Puck and his lord Oberon wreck havoc on the humans with a love potion that causes the victim to fall in love with the first thing they see upon waking.??- Some Books of Shakespeare:?- Romeo and Juliet (1597)?- Hamlet (1599)?- Macbeth (1606)?- Julius Caesar (1599)?- Othello (1603)?- The Merchant of Venice (1598)?- Much Ado About Nothing (1600)?- King Lear (1606)?- The Taming of the Shrew (1594)?- The Comedy of Errors (1594)

KING CHARLES THE FIRST was born in Scotland. It may perhaps surprise the reader that an English king should be born in Scotland. The explanation is this:??They who have read the history of Mary Queen of Scots, will remember that it was the great end and aim of her life to unite the crowns of England and Scotland in her own family. Queen Elizabeth was then Queen of England. She lived and died unmarried. Queen Mary and a young man named Lord Darnley were the next heirs. It was uncertain which of the two had the strongest claim. To prevent a dispute, by uniting these claims, Mary made Darnley her husband. ??They had it son, who, after the death of his father and mother, was acknowledged to be the heir to the English throne, whenever Elizabeth's life should end. In the meantime he remained King of Scotland. His name was James. He married a princess of Denmark; and his child, who afterward was King Charles the First of England, was born before he left his native realm.

ESCAPECOME, shall we go, my comrade, from this denWhere falsehood reigns and we have dallied long?Exchange the curious vanities of menFor roads of freedom and for ships of song? We came as strangers, came to learn and look,To hear their music, drink the wine they gave.Now let us hence again; the happy brookShall quench our thirst, our music be the wave. Come! they are feasting, let us steal away.Beyond the doors the night awaits us, sweet.To-morrow we shall see the break of day,And goat-herds’ pipes shall lead our roaming feet. TO EVE IN TEARSYOU laughed, and all the fountains of the EastLeapt up to Heaven with their diamond rainTo hang in light, and when your laughter ceasedDropped shivered arrows to the ground again. You laughed, and from the belfries of the earthThe music rippled like a shaken pool;And listless banners at the breeze of mirthWere stirred in harbours suddenly made cool. You wept, and all the music of the air—As when a hand is laid upon a bell—Was stilled, and Dryads of the tossing hairCrept back abashed within the secret dell. MARIANA IN THE NORTHALL her youth is gone, her beautiful youth outworn,Daughter of tarn and tor, the moors that were once her homeNo longer know her step on the upland tracks forlornWhere she was wont to roam. All her hounds are dead, her beautiful hounds are dead,That paced beside the hoofs of her high and nimble horse,Or streaked in lean pursuit of the tawny hare that fledOut of the yellow gorse. All her lovers have passed, her beautiful lovers have passed,The young and eager men that fought for her arrogant hand,And the only voice which endures to mourn for her at the lastIs the voice of the lonely land. SORROW OF DEPARTURE. For D.HE sat among the shadows lost,And heard the careless voice speak onOf life when he was gone from home,Of days that he had made his own,Familiar schemes that he had known,And dates that he had cherished mostAs star-points in the year to come,And he was suddenly alone,Thinking (not bitterly,But with a grave regret) that heWas in that room a ghost. He sat among the shades apart,The careless voice he scarcely heard.In that arrested hour there stirredShy birds of beauty in his heart. The clouds of March he would not seeAcross the sky race royally,Nor yet the drift of daffodilHe planted with so glad a hand,Nor yet the loveliness he plannedFor summer’s sequence to fulfil,Nor trace upon the hillThe annual waking of the land,Nor meditative standTo watch the turning of the mill. He would not pause above the WealdWith twilight falling dim,And mark the chequer-board of field,The water gleaming like a shield,The oast-house in the elms concealed,Nor see, from heaven’s chalice-rim,The vintaged sunset brim,Nor yet the high, suspended starHanging eternally afar. These things would be, but not for him. At summer noon he would not lieOne with his cutter’s rise and dip,Free with the wind and sea and sky,And watch the dappled waves go by,The sea-gulls scream and slip;White sails, white birds, white clouds, white foam,White cliffs that curled the love of homeAround him like a whip....He would not see that summer noonFade into dusk from light,While he on shifting waters brightSailed idly on, beneath the moonClimbing the dome of night. This was his dream of happy thingsThat he had loved through many springs, And never more might know.But man must pass the shrouded gateCompanioned by his secret fate,And he must lonely go,And none can help or understand,For other men may touch his hand,But none the soul below.

AT the east end of the choir aisle of the Cathedral there is a portion of the wall which is possibly the oldest piece of masonry in Oxford, for it is thought to be a part of the original Church of St. Frideswyde, on whose site the Cathedral Church of Christ (to give its full title) now stands. Even so it is not possible to speak with historical certainty of the saint or of the date of her Church, which was built for her by her father, so the legend says, when she took the veil; though the year 740 may be provisionally accepted as the last year of her life. St. Frideswyde's was a conventual Church, with a Priory attached, and both were burnt down in 1002, but rebuilt by Ethelred. How much of his handiwork survives in the present structure it is not easy to de-termine; but the Norman builders of the twelfth century effected, at any rate, such a transformation that no suggestion of Saxon architecture is obtruded. Their work went on for some twenty years, under the supervision of the then Prior, Robert of Cricklade, and the Church was consecrated anew in 1180. The main features of the interior—the massive pillars and arches—are substantially the same to-day as the builders left them then. THIS BOOK, is not intended to compete with any existing guides to Oxford: it is not a guide-book in any formal or exhaustive sense. Its purpose is to shew forth the chief beauties of the University and City, as they have ap-peared to several artists; with such a running commentary as may explain the pictures, and may indicate whatever is most interesting in connection with the scenes which they represent. Slight as the notes are, there has been no sacrifice, it is believed, of accuracy. The principal facts have been derived from Alexander Chalmers' History of the Colleges, Halls, and Public Buildings of the University of Oxford, from Mr. Lang's Oxford, and from the Oxford and its Colleges of Mr. J. Wells. The illustrations, with the exception of six only, which are derived from Ackermann's Oxford, are reproduced from the paintings of living artists, mostly by Mr. W. Matthison, the others by Mrs. C. R. Walton, Walter S. S. Tyrwhitt, Mr. Bayzant, and Miss E. S. Cheesewright.

AS you open this book you will probably ask, "What is a golden deed?"?Let me tell you. It is the doing of something for somebody else doing it without thought of self, without thought of reward, fearlessly, heroically, and because it is a duty.??Such a deed is possible to you, to me, to everybody. It is frequently performed without forethought or definite intention. It is the spontaneous manifestation of nobility, somewhere, of mind or heart. It may consist merely in the doing of some kind and helpful service at home or at school. It may be an unexpected test of heroism a warning of danger, a saving of somebody's life. It may be an act of benevolence, or a series of such acts, world-wide in application and results.??This little volume is only a book of samples. Here are specimens of golden deeds of various kinds and of different degrees of merit, ranging from the unpremeditated saving of a railroad train to the great humanitarian movement which carries blessings to all mankind. To attempt to tell of every such deed, or of every one that is eminently worthy, would fill a multitude of books. ??The, examples which I have chosen are such only as have occurred on American soil, or have been performed by Americans, thus distinguishing the volume from Miss Charlotte Yonge's "Book of Golden Deeds," published for English readers fifty years ago. While some of these narratives may have the appearance of romance, yet they are all believed to be true, and in most cases the real name of the hero, or of the lover of humanity, is given.??Instances of doing and daring have always a fascination for young people, and when to these is added the idea of a noble underlying motive the lessons taught by them cannot fail to be beneficial. ?

Cei ce sus?in c? tr?im ?ntr-o er? a comunic?rii par s? confunde dezvoltarea telecomunica?iilor cu progresul comunic?rii interumane. Nu este c?tu?i de pu?in sigur c? suntem ast?zi mai capabili dec?t ?n trecut de solidaritate afectiv? cu semenii, de ?mp?rt??ire de tr?iri intime, de prietenie ?i dragoste. Poate chiar dimpotriv?. Ceea ce ?inea ?n trecut de normalitatea vie?ii de fiecare zi ?i, ca atare, nu mobiliza ?n mod special aten?ia celor implica?i, a devenit ast?zi obiect de analiz? tocmai pentru c? nu se mai produce spontan, ci necesit? un efort con?tient, inclusiv de natura teoretic-investigativ?.Cunoa?terea principiilor ?i a mecanismelor comunic?rii interpersonale a devenit indispensabil? pentru ameliorarea raporturilor dintre oameni ?i a ?ncetat s? mai fie numai o problem? a speciali?tilor. Dac? ?n trecut oamenii comunicau spontan, ?n felul ?n care f?cea proza ?burghezul gentilom“, ast?zi suntem tot mai mult ?n situa?ia unui domn Jourdain care, pentru a se apropia de semenii s?i, are nevoie de un ghid. Acestui imperativ ?ncearc? s?-i r?spund?, ?n felul s?u, ?i lucrarea de fa??.

Cititorul va redescoperi, citind aceast? carte, istoriile, uneori-adeseori, scandaloase ale celebrelor cupluri bucure?tene, inclusiv c?teva din pove?tile de dragoste care s-au legat ?ntre domni?ele noastre ?i str?inii ajun?i la Bucure?ti, fie ?n calitate de diploma?i, fie de militari. Nu lipsesc din aceste pagini nici arti?tii din galeria ?aman?ilor magnifici“ ai Bucure?tilor de odinioar?. Un exemplu este povestea rivalit??ii Eminescu – Caragiale ?n ceea ce-o prive?te pe Veronica Micle sau povestea dublei pasiuni a arhitectului Alexandru Orascu – pentru so?ia sa Elena Marcovici ?i pentru ora?ul natal pe care visa s?-l ridice din cenu?? ?i ruine. Un Bucure?ti al Afroditei ?i al lui Eros (cum ?i mergea vestea ?nca din veacul fanariot, potrivit calug?rului grec Daponte), nu era de ?nchipuit f?r? evocarea vestitelor baluri din palatul ?u?u ?i nici f?r? evocarea cuplului Grigore ?i Irina ?u?u, arbitri ai elegan?ei, ospitalit??ii ?i curtoaziei specifice secolului al XIX-lea.

L?sa?i atunci trufia la o parte, C?ci de b?rba?i trufia ne desparte. ?i m?inile, duioase ?i supuse, ?n slujba lor pe veci s? fie puse. ?i so?ul meu, de ?ndat? ce ar vrea, ?n m?na lui mi a? pune m?na mea. Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot,And place your hands below your husband’s foot: In token of which duty, if he please, My hand is ready; may it do him ease.

O istorie politico-sentimental? a capitalei noastre. De ce o istorie politico-sentimental?? Pentru c?, ?n evolu?ia Bucure?tiului, de-alungul secolelor, afacerile politice s-au ?mpletit adesea, inevitabil, cu b?t?ile inimii. Chiar prima perioad? a cet??ii, ca ?i capital? domneasc?, tutelat? de figu ra dominant? a doamnei Chiajna, poate fi b?nuit? de un senzualism crud care a deschis drum acelui fenomen pe care Ionescu-Gion ?l numea at?t de plastic ?ginecolatrie“, adic? ascultarea dovedit? de domnitorii valahi fa?? de so?iile lor.

Aceast? carte este un demers pe care l-am g?ndit ca pe o lucrare de sintez? care s? surprind?, ?n m?sura posibilit??ilor, puncte de referin?? ?ntre texte ?i autori din perioade diferite, din Evul Mediu european ?i Rena?tere, con?tient? fiind c? epoca medieval? nu trebuie considerat? cu nimic mai prejos dec?t grandorile Greciei vechi sau ale Rena?terii. Problematica acestui concept al Alegoriei ?n receptarea sa de c?tre literatura Evului Mediu, dar ?i de c?tre epocile ulterioare, este complex? ?i bogata bibliografie ce i s-a consacrat ?n ultimele decenii nu face dec?t s? provoace la noi discu?ii ?i interpret?ri a?a cum este ?i aceast? lucrare.

Junimea ?i revista Convorbiri literare, pentru o ?ar? ca a noastr?, a tuturor nea?ez?rilor, au fost un suflu de temeinicie care s-a mai repetat ?n perioada interbelic?, f?r? a reu?i s? se coaguleze ca urmare a r?zboiului ?i dictaturilor ce l-au ?nso?it ?i urmat; suflu care pare ?nc? departe, ca s? nu spunem imposibil s? revin? ?n cultura rom?n? sub presiunea globalismului ?i multiculturalismului, a deconstruc?iei cu program ?n toate manifest?rile social-culturale, materiale ?i spirituale. E un model care, dup? o sut? cincizeci de ani, ?nc? ??i trimite razele f?r? a primi o reflectare pe m?sur?.Ceea ce deosebe?te criticismul junimist de criticile epocii ?i, ?n parte, ?i de al ?nainta?ilor este atitudinea comun?, afirmat? de Maiorescu, respectul adev?rului.Importan?a ?i influen?a junimismului ?n sfera politic? sunt de acela?i nivel cu cele afirmate ?n plan cultural ?i literar, e drept, nu cu aceea?i durabilitate, politicul este mult mai efemer, dar nu mai pu?in implicat ?i cu efecte imediate ?i adesea pe termen mediu ?i lung ?n via?a social? a ??rii. (Cassian Maria Spiridon)

Volumul de fa?? reune?te portretele sclipitoare ale celor mai ilustre favorite. Apropiate puterii, exercit?ndu??i influen?a adesea ?ntr?o manier? clandestin?, ele alc?tuiesc un galant cortegiu de femei c?rora importan?i b?rba?i de stat le datoreaz? mult. Ce este o favorit?? Cuv?ntul, ne?ndoielnic originar din italian?, se refer? la o femeie care ?se bucur? de favorurile" unei persoane de rang foarte ?nalt. Spre deosebire de o amant?, favorita nu se mul?ume?te s? fie obiectul unei pasiuni amoroase, fie aceasta efemer? ori durabil?. Ea are putere, exercit? influen?? politic?, economic? sau artistic?; ob?ine rezultate, fericite sau dezastruoase. Fie c? e iubit? de popula?ie, tolerat? sau detestat?, nimic nu se face ?i nu se desface f?r? ea. Muzele prezentate de autor ?n acest periplu prin istoria Europei au jucat toate un rol propor?ional cu influen?a exercitat? asupra monarhului, prin?ului mo?tenitor, regelui sau ?mp?ratului l?ng? care s-au aflat, fie el c?s?torit, v?duv sau celibatar: Agnes Sorel, Diana de Poitiers, Gabrielle d’Estrées, Louise de La Valliere, marchiza de Montespan, doamna de Maintenon, surorile de Nesle, marchiza de Pompadour, doamna du Barry, Zoé du Cayla, Lol Montez, Miss Howard, Katia Dolgorukova, Blanche Delacroix, Magda Lupescu ?i Wallis Simpson. Optsprezece portrete de femei care au influen?at cursul istoriei. ?n bine ?i ?n r?u.?

Un volum cuprinzand studii si documente descoperite in arhivele romane si straine (aproximativ 900 pagini) privind istoria conflictului mondial din 1939-1945 si a razboiului rece. Lucrarea reflecta, in esenta, batalia pentru informatii angajata intre serviciile de spionaj dupa 1939, pregatirea si infaptuirea loviturii de stat de la 23 August 1944, lupta pentru putere la nivelul conducerii P.C.R. (1944-1989), premisele loviturii de stat din 22 decembrie 1989, prabusirea statului comunist in Europa Est-Centrala e.t.c.

Dictionarul de sociologie rurala este primul volum din cele sase care alcatuiesc Enciclopedia Rurala. Lucrarea se inscrie in traditia deschisa de Scoala Sociologica de la Bucuresti si pentru realizarea sa a colaborat un colectiv de autori din toate centrele universitare ale tarii: Bucuresti, Cluj, Oradea, Iasi, Brasov, Craiova. Dictionarul este structurat pe patru sectiuni (termeni, personalitati, curente, reviste) si cumuleaza, pe o intindere de aproximativ 650 de pagini, un numar de peste 300 de termeni. Lucrarea valorifica terminologia sociologiei rurale romanesti si europene precum si cea din practica unor institutii internationale si regionale care prin natura preocuparilor lor afecteaza mediul rural. De asemenea dictionarul ofera o sistematizare schematica a teoriilor si curentelor de referinta pentru domeniu si constituie un ghid util pentru toti cei interesati de practica si metodologia de cercetare rurala din sociologie, antropologie si politici de dezvoltare.