As in the case of "The Bases of Design," to which this is intended to form a companion volume, the substance of the following chapters on Line and Form originally formed a series of lectures delivered to the students of the Manchester Municipal School of Art. There is no pretension to an exhaustive treatment of a subject it would be difficult enough to exhaust, and it is dealt with in a way intended to bear rather upon the practical work of an art school, and to be suggestive and helpful to those face to face with the current problems of drawing and design. These have been approached from a personal point of view, as the results of conclusions arrived at in the course of a busy working life which has left but few intervals for the elaboration of theories apart from practice, and such as they are, these papers are now offered to the wider circle of students and workers in the arts of design as from one of themselves. They were illustrated largely by means of rough sketching in line before my student audience, as well as by photographs and drawings. The rough diagrams have been re-drawn, and the other illustrations reproduced, so that both line and tone blocks are used, uniformity being sacrificed to fidelity.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?WALTER CRANE. Outline, one might say, is the Alpha and Omega of Art. It is the earliest mode of expression among primitive peoples, as it is with the individual child, and it has been cultivated for its power of characterization and expression, and as an ultimate test of draughtsmanship, by the most accomplished artists of all time. The old fanciful story of its origin in the work of a lover who traced in charcoal the boundary of the shadow of the head of his sweetheart as cast upon the wall by the sun, and thus obtained the first profile portrait, is probably more true in substance than in fact, but it certainly illustrates the function of outline as the definition of the boundaries of form.Silhouette As children we probably perceive forms in nature defined as flat shapes of colour relieved upon other colours, or flat fields of light on dark, as a white horse is defined upon the green grass of a field, or a black figure upon a background of snow.Definition of BoundariesTo define the boundaries of such forms becomes the main object in early attempts at artistic expression. The attention is caught by the edges—the shape of the silhouette which remains the paramount means of distinction of form when details and secondary characteristics are lost; as the outlines of mountains remain, or are even more clearly seen, when distance subdues the details of their structure, and evening mists throw them into flat planes one behind the other, and leave nothing but the delicate lines of their edges to tell their character. We feel the beauty and simplicity of such effects in nature. We feel that the mind, through the eye resting upon these quiet planes and delicate lines, receives a sense of repose and poetic suggestion which is lost in the bright noontide, with all its wealth of glittering detail, sharp cut in light and shade. There is no doubt that this typical power of outline and the value of simplicity of mass were perceived by the ancients, notably the Ancient Egyptians and the Greeks, who both, in their own ways, in their art show a wonderful power of characterization by means of line and mass, and a delicate sense of the ornamental value and quality of line. Formation of LettersRegarding line—the use of outline from the point of view of its value as a means of definition of form and fact—its power is really only limited by the power of draughtsmanship at the command of the artist. From the archaic potters' primitive figures or the rudimentary attempts of children at human or animal forms up to the most refined outlines of a Greek vase-painter, or say the artist of the Dream of Poliphilus, the difference is one of degree.

Macbeth (full title The Tragedy of Macbeth) is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, and is considered one of his darkest and most powerful works. Set in Scotland, the play dramatizes the corrosive psychological and political effects produced when evil is chosen as a way to fulfil the ambition for power. The play is believed to have been written between 1599 and 1606, and is most commonly dated 1606. The earliest account of a performance of what was probably Shakespeare's play is the Summer of 1606, when Simon Forman recorded seeing such a play at the Globe Theatre. Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy, and tells the story of a brave Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia, and he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler as he is forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of arrogance, madness, and death. The play opens amidst thunder and lightning, and the Three Witches decide that their next meeting shall be with Macbeth. In the following scene, a wounded sergeant reports to King Duncan of Scotland that his generals—Macbeth, who is the Thane of Glamis, and Banquo—have just defeated the allied forces of Norway and Ireland, who were led by the traitorous Macdonwald and the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth, the King's kinsman, is praised for his bravery and fighting prowess.In the following scene, Macbeth and Banquo discuss the weather and their victory. As they wander onto a heath, the Three Witches enter and greet them with prophecies. Though Banquo challenges them first, they address Macbeth, hailing him as "Thane of Glamis," "Thane of Cawdor," and that he shall "be King hereafter." Macbeth appears to be stunned to silence. When Banquo asks of his own fortunes, the witches inform him that he will father a line of kings, though he himself will not be one. While the two men wonder at these pronouncements, the witches vanish, and another thane, Ross, arrives and informs Macbeth of his newly bestowed title: Thane of Cawdor, as the previous Thane of Cawdor shall be put to death for his traitorous activities. The first prophecy is thus fulfilled, and Macbeth immediately begins to harbour ambitions of becoming king.King Duncan welcomes and praises Macbeth and Banquo, and declares that he will spend the night at Macbeth's castle at Inverness; he also names his son Malcolm as his heir. Macbeth sends a message ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her about the witches' prophecies. Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband's uncertainty, and wishes him to murder Duncan in order to obtain kingship. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she overrides all of her husband's objections by challenging his manhood, and successfully persuades him to kill the king that very night. He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan's two chamberlains drunk so that they will black out; the next morning they will blame the chamberlains for the murder. They will be defenseless, as they will remember nothing.While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of supernatural portents, including a hallucination of a bloody dagger. He is so shaken that Lady Macbeth has to take charge. In accordance with her plan, she frames Duncan's sleeping servants for the murder by placing bloody daggers on them. Early the next morning, Lennox, a Scottish nobleman, and Macduff, the loyal Thane of Fife, arrive. A porter opens the gate and Macbeth leads them to the king's chamber, where Macduff discovers Duncan's body. ABOUT AUTHOR: William Shakespeare ( 1564 (baptised) – 1616) was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, the authorship of some of which is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613 at age 49, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physic

A NEW AND FACETIOUS INTRODUCTION TO THE ENGLISH TONGUEBy Percival LeighEmbellished with upwards of forty-five Characteristic IllustrationsBy JOHN LEECH. Fashion requires, and like the rest of her sex, requires because she requires, that before a writer begins the business of his book, he should give an account to the world of his reasons for producing it; and therefore, to avoid singularity, we shall proceed with the statement of our own, excepting only a few private ones, which are neither here nor there. To advance the interests of mankind by promoting the cause of Education; to ameliorate the conversation of the masses; to cultivate Taste, and diffuse Refinement; these are the objects we have in view in submitting a Comic English Grammar to the patronage of a discerning Public. Few persons there are, whose ears are so extremely obtuse, as not to be frequently annoyed at the violations of Grammar by which they are so often assailed. It is really painful to be forced, in walking along the streets, to hear such phrases as, "That 'ere omnibus." "Where've you bin?" "Vot's the odds?" and the like. Very dreadful expressions are also used by cartmen and others in addressing their horses. What can possibly induce a human being to say "Gee woot!" "'Mather way!" or "Woa not to mention the atrocious "Kim aup!" of the barbarous butcher's boy. It is notorious that the above and greater enormities are perpetrated in spite of the number of Grammars already before the world. This fact sufficiently excuses the present addition to the stock; and as serious English Grammars have hitherto failed to effect the desired reformation, we are induced to attempt it by means of a Comic one. With regard to the moral tendency of our labors, we may be here permitted to remark, that they will tend, if successful, to the suppression of evil speaking ; and as the Spartans used to exhibit a tipsy slave to their children with a view to disgust them with drunkenness, and We will not allow a man to give an old woman a dose of rhubarb if he have not acquired at least half a dozen sciences; but we permit a quack to sell as much poison as he pleases. When one man runs away with another's wife, and, being on that account challenged to fight a duel, shoots the aggrieved party through the head, the latter is said to receive satisfaction. We never take a glass of wine at dinner without getting somebody else to do the same, as if we wanted encouragement; and then, before we venture to drink, we bow to each other across the table, preserving all the while a most wonderful gravity. This, however, it may be said, is the natural result of endeavoring to keep one another in countenance. The way in which we imitate foreign manners and customs is very amusing. Savages stick fish-bones through their noses; our fair countrywomen have hoops of metal poked through their ears. The Caribs flatten the forehead; the Chinese compress the foot; and we possess similar contrivances for reducing the figure of a young lady to a resemblance to an hour-glass or a devil-on-two-sticks. There being no other assignable motive for these and the like proceedings, it is reasonable to suppose that they are adopted, as schoolboys say, "for fun." We could go on, were it necessary, adducing facts to an almost unlimited extent; but we consider that enough has now been said in proof of the comic character of the national mind. And in conclusion, if any other than an English or American author can be produced, equal in point of wit, humor, and drollery, to Swift, Sterne, Dickens, or Paulding, we hereby engage to eat him; albeit we have no pretensions to the character of a "helluo librorum." "English Grammar," according to Lindley Murray, "is the art of speaking and writing the English language with propriety." The English language, written and spoken with propriety, is commonly called the King's English.

Small arms have developed hugely since the introduction of the machine gun in the 1870s. Magazine-fed rifles, submachine guns, automatic pistols and, later, assault rifles and personal defence weapons have changed the face of infantry warfare, offering a range of weaponry designed for both the specialist and novice. The World’s Greatest Small Arms features 52 weapons from the late 19th century to the present day. The book includes the best-known weapons from throughout the modern era, from the Gatling gun, SMLE rifle and Luger pistol, to the Uzi, FN MAG and the M110 sniper rifle. Great iconic weapons, such as the Colt M1911 pistol, Bren Gun, MP5 submachine gun, and Steyr AUG rifle are featured, as well as timeless classics still in use today: the M2 Browning 50 cal, AK-47 and M16 rifle. Each weapon is illustrated with a colour profile artwork and photographs, along with a description of the weapon’s development and history, key features and a full specifications box. Including more than 200 artworks and photographs, The World’s Greatest Small Arms is a colourful guide for the military historian.

A collection of three enchanting plays adapted from popular fairy tales and suitable for family audiences:?Tin Soldier (adapted from The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen), A Tasty Tale (Hansel and Gretel), Hood in the Wood (Little Red Riding Hood). Acclaimed playwright Noel Greig, has recreated these well-known tales for the stage with wit and imagination. All three plays have been performed throughout the UK by Tangere Arts, winning a? Time Out Critics' Choice Award . Teachers, youth theatres and amateur groups working with young performers will use this collection time and again for productions, drama classes and workshops - whether for one performer or many. Suitable for children aged 7+ The simple form and language of the plays belie their theatrical and psychological sophistication. Tin Soldier ' a powerful poetic drama, an epic fable for our times.' **** ?Independent A Tasty Tale (Hansel and Gretel) ' Delicious moments... fashioned into a rhyming feast.' ****?Time Out Hood in the Wood (Little Red Riding Hood) ' a first-rate piece of storytelling that will make children squeal with terrified delight and parents shiver with recognition. ' **** ?Guardian

Dvadeset godina nakon epohalne promjene 1989., koja je na postjugoslavenski prostor djelovala na posve druk?iji na?in nego na druge prija?nje realsocijalisti?ke europske zemlje, ova studija predstavlja poku?aj analiti?kog osvrta na dva desetlje?a razvoja civilnog dru?tva na zapadnom Balkanu. Njen autor Sr?an Dvornik iz Hrvatske, u to je dobro upu?en. Nije slu?ajno ?to se kroz cijeli sadr?aj i u strukturi ove knjige ispreple?u teorija i praksa te odnosi unutar i izvan “civilnodru?tvenog” razvoja. (...) Ova je studija va?an doprinos, dosad nedostatnim, razmatranjima o mogu?nostima i ograni?enjima akter? civilnog dru?tva u (post)autoritarnim dru?tvima. Istovremeno ona donosi i pouku da instrumenti zapadne politike demokratizacije imaju pred sobom jo? dug put razvoja do to?ke na kojoj ?e posve iscrpsti svoje dosada?nje organizacijske i politi?ke potencijale, da bi potom na nove me?unarodne izazove, koje nam novi svjetski (ne)red postavlja posljednja dva desetlje?a, mogli primjerenije reagirati. dr. Azra D?aji?-Weber

“From the fury of the Northmen, good Lord deliver us.” – Anonymous monk, Noirmoutier, France, 9th century AD Beginning in 789AD, the Vikings raided monasteries, sacked cities and invaded western Europe. They looted and enslaved their enemies. But that is only part of their story. In long boats they discovered Iceland and America (both by accident) and also sailed up the Seine to Paris (which they sacked). They settled from Newfoundland to Russia, founded Dublin and fought battles as far afield as the Caspian Sea. A thousand years after their demise, traces of the Vikings remain all the way from North America to Istanbul. They traded walruses with Inuits, brought Russian furs to Western Europe and took European slaves to Constantinople. Their graves contain Arab silver, Byzantine silks and Frankish weapons. In this accessible book, the whole narrative of the Viking story is examined from the eighth to the eleventh centuries. Arranged thematically, Vikings: A History of the Norse People examines the Norsemen from exploration to religion to trade to settlement to weaponry to kingdoms to their demise and legacy. But today questions remain: what prompted the first Viking raids? What stopped their expansion? And how much of the tales of murder, rape and pillage is myth? Illustrated with more than 200 photographs, maps and artworks, Vikings: A History of the Norse People is an expertly written account of a people who have long captured the popular imagination.

A manhunt can involve helicopters, hounds and hundreds of military or police personnel, but it can also turn on the evidence of one broken spider’s web. Manhunts today might involve the technology of infrared cameras and surveillance devices such as powerful satellite technology, but they may also rely on examining the width, depth, tread and intervals of footprints, or observing minute changes in the natural environment. From searching for high-value enemy targets such as Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein to finding soldiers caught behind enemy lines, from escaped prisoners and serial killers to a missing child, SAS and Elite Forces Guide: Manhunt explores just how the military and police forces track people down. Including many case studies of high-value targets, suspected criminals and fugitives from justice, and with extensive background on the different techniques in tracking used, from traditional Native American trackers’ skills to the latest high-tech methods, Manhunt brings together the history and science of tracking. Illustrated with 150 maps and photographs, SAS and Elite Forces Guide: Manhunt is an authoritative examination of tracking from footprints to forensics and a must for anyone interested in the latest military practices, true crime and survival skills.

THE history, the features, and the most famous examples of European architecture, during a period extending from the rise of the Gothic, or pointed, style in the twelfth century to the general depression which overtook the Renaissance style at the close of the eighteenth, form the subject of this little volume. I have endeavoured to adopt as free and simple a mode of treatment as is compatible with the accurate statement of at least the outlines of so very technical a subject. Though it is to be hoped that many professional students of architecture will find this hand-book serviceable to them in their elementary studies, it has been my principal endeavour to adapt it to the requirements of those who are preparing for the professional pursuit of the sister arts, and of that large and happily increasing number of students who pursue the fine arts as a necessary part of a complete liberal education, and who know that a solid and comprehensive acquaintance with art, especially if joined to some skill in the use of the pencil, the brush, the modelling tool, or the etching needle, will open sources of pleasure and interest of the most refined description. The broad facts of all art history; the principles which underlie each of the fine arts; and the most precious or most noteworthy examples of each, ought to be familiar to every art student, whatever special branch he may follow. Beyond these limits I have not attempted to carry this account of Gothic and Renaissance architecture; within them I have endeavoured to make the work as complete as the space at my disposal permitted. THE architecture generally known as Gothic, but often described as Christian Pointed, prevailed throughout Europe to the exclusion of every rival for upwards of three centuries; and it is to be met with, more or less, during two others. Speaking broadly, it may be said that its origin took place in the twelfth century, that the thirteenth was the period of its development, the fourteenth that of its perfection, and the fifteenth that of its decline; while many examples of its employment occur in the sixteenth. In the following chapters the principal changes in the features of buildings which occurred during the progress of the style in England will be described. Subsequently, the manner in which the different stages of development were reached in different countries will be given; for architecture passed through very nearly the same phases in all European nations, though not quite simultaneously. It must be understood that through the whole Gothic period, growth or at least change was going on; the transitions from one stage to another were only periods of more rapid change than usual. The whole process may be illustrated by the progress of a language. If, for instance, we compare round-arched architecture in the eleventh century to the Anglo-Saxon form of speech of the time of Alfred the Great, and the architecture of the twelfth century to the English of Chaucer, that of the thirteenth will correspond to the richer language of Shakespeare, that of the fourteenth to the highly polished language of Addison and Pope, and that of the fifteenth to the English of our own day. We can thus obtain an apt parallel to the gradual change and growth which went on in architecture; and we shall find that the oneness of the language in the former case, and of the architecture in the latter, was maintained throughout. For an account of the Christian round-arched architecture which preceded Gothic, the reader is referred to the companion volume in this series. Here it will be only necessary briefly to review the circumstances which went before the appearance of the pointed styles.

"Where ocean bathes earth's footstool these sea-bowersBedeck its solid wavelets: wise was heWho blended shore with deep, with seaweed flowers,And Naiads' rivulets with Nereids' sea." Strictly speaking the peninsula on which the city stands is of the form of a trapezium. It juts out into the sea, beating back as it were the fierce waves of the Bosphorus, and forcing them to turn aside from their straight course and widen into the Sea of Marmora, which the ancients called the Propontis, narrowing again as it forces its way between the near banks of the Hellespont, which rise abrupt and arid from the European side, and slope gently away in Asia to the foot of Mount Ida. Northwards there is the little bay of the Golden Horn, an arm as it were of the Bosphorus, into which run the streams which the Turks call the Sweet Waters of Europe. The mouth of the harbour is no more than five hundred yards across. The Greeks of the Empire spanned it by a chain, supported here and there on wooden piles, fragments of which still remain in the Armoury that was once the church of S. Irene. Within is safe anchorage in one of the finest harbours of the world. South of the Golden Horn, on the narrow tongue of land—narrow it seems as seen from the hills of the northern shore—is the city of Constantine and his successors in empire, seated, like the old Rome, on seven hills, and surrounded on three sides by sea, on the fourth by the still splendid, though shattered, medi?val walls. Northwards are the two towns, now linked together, of Pera and Galata, that look back only to the trading settlements of the Middle Ages.The single spot united, as Gibbon puts it, the prospects of beauty, of safety, and of wealth: and in a masterly description that great historian has collected the features which made the position, "formed by Nature for the centre and capital of a great monarchy," attractive to the first colonists, and evident to Constantine as the centre where he could best combine and command the power of the Eastern half of his mighty Empire. Byzantium Before Constantine.It is impossible to approach Constantinople without seeing the beauty and the wonder of its site. Whether you pass rapidly down the Bosphorus, between banks crowned with towers and houses and mosques, that stretch away hither and thither to distant hills, now bleak, now crowned with dark cypress groves; or up from the Sea of Marmora, watching the dome of S. Sophia that glitters above the closely packed houses, till you turn the point which brings you to the Golden Horn, crowded with shipping and bright with the flags of many nations; or even if you come overland by the sandy wastes along the shore, looking across the deep blue of the sea to the islands and the snow-crowned mountains of Asia, till you break through the crumbling wall within sight of the Golden Gate, and find yourself at a step deep in the relics of the middle ages; you cannot fail to wonder at the splendour of the view which meets your eyes. Sea, sunlight, the quaint houses that stand close upon the water's edge, the white palaces, the crowded quays, and the crowning glory of the Eastern domes and the medi?val walls—these are the elements that combine to impress, and the impression is never lost. Often as you may see again the approach to the imperial city, its splendour and dignity and the exquisite beauty of colour and light will exert their old charm, and as you put foot in the New Rome you will feel all the glamour of the days that are gone by.

Leonardo's views of aesthetic are all important in his philosophy of life and art. The worker's thoughts on his craft are always of interest. They are doubly so when there is in them no trace of literary self-consciousness to blemish their expression. He recorded these thoughts at the instant of their birth, for a constant habit of observation and analysis had early developed with him into a second nature. His ideas were penned in the same fragmentary way as they presented themselves to his mind, perhaps with no intention of publishing them to the world. But his ideal of art depended intimately, none the less, on the system he had thrown out seemingly in so haphazard a manner. The long obscurity of the Dark Ages lifted over Italy, awakening to a national though a divided consciousness. Already two distinct tendencies were apparent. The practical and rational, on the one hand, was soon to be outwardly reflected in the burgher-life of Florence and the Lombard cities, while at Rome it had even then created the civil organization of the curia. The novella was its literary triumph. In art it expressed itself simply, directly and with vigour. Opposed to this was the other great undercurrent in Italian life, mystical, religious and speculative, which had run through the nation from the earliest times, and received fresh volume from mediaeval Christianity, encouraging ecstatic mysticism to drive to frenzy the population of its mountain cities. Umbrian painting is inspired by it, and the glowing words of Jacopone da Todi expressed in poetry the same religious fervour which the life of Florence and Perugia bore witness to in action. Italy developed out of the relation and conflict of these two forces the rational with the mystical. Their later union in the greater men was to form the art temperament of the Renaissance. The practical side gave it the firm foundation of rationalism and reality on which it rested; the mystical guided its endeavour to picture the unreal in terms of ideal beauty.The first offspring of this union was Leonardo. Since the decay of ancient art no painter had been able to fully express the human form, for imperfect mastery of technique still proved the barrier. Leonardo was the first completely to disengage his personality from its constraint, and make line express thought as none before him could do. Nor was this his only triumph, but rather the foundation on which further achievement rested. Remarkable as a thinker alone, he preferred to enlist thought in the service of art, and make art the handmaid of beauty. Leonardo saw the world not as it is, but as he himself was. He viewed it through the atmosphere of beauty which filled his mind, and tinged its shadows with the mystery of his nature. From his earliest years, the elements of greatness were present in Leonardo. But the maturity of his genius came unaffected from without. He barely noticed the great forces of the age which in life he encountered. After the first promise of his boyhood in the Tuscan hills, his youth at Florence had been spent under Verrocchio as a master, in company with those whose names were later to brighten the pages of Italian art. At one time he contemplated entering the service of an Oriental prince. Instead, he entered that of Caesar Borgia, as military engineer, and the greatest painter of the age became inspector of a despot's strongholds. But his restless nature did not leave him long at this. Returning to Florence he competed with Michelangelo; yet the service of even his native city could not retain him. His fame had attracted the attention of a new patron of the arts, prince of the state which had conquered his first master. In this his last venture, he forsook Italy, only to die three years later at Amboise, in the castle of the French king.

De la ?nfiin?area sa, acum o sut? de ani, MI6 a fost ?nconjurat de mister ?i a avut un aer aproape mitic. Pentru opinia public?, no?iunea de ?spion“ a fost modelat? de universurile fic?ionale ale unor scriitori precum Ian Fleming, p?rintele lui James Bond, ?i John le Carré, creatorul cerebralului Smiley. Gordon Corera le ofer? cititorilor s?i ?ansa unic?, f?r? precedent, de a p?trunde ?n aceast? lume secret? ?i de a observa realitatea care a stat la baza fic?iunii. Cartea prezint? pove?ti individuale – mai degrab? dec?t pe cele ale institu?iilor sau descrierea evolu?iei situa?iei politice de-a lungul timpului –, scopul fiind acela de a explora rela?iile unice ?i personale din spatele spionajului – ceea ce Graham Greene numea ?factorul uman“, cu alte cuvinte, ?n cazul de fa??, motiva?iile ?i loialit??ile unui spion sau ale unui tr?d?tor ?i faptele care decurg de aici.De la ?nceputurile R?zboiului Rece p?n? ?n ziua de azi, MI6 a suferit o transformare extraordinar?, devenind dintr-o organiza?ie de diletan?i, cu iz de club select, una modern?, profesionist?, dar nu mai pu?in controversat?. Iar Gordon Corera ?i dezv?luie deopotriv? e?ecurile ?i succesele de-a lungul timpului, ?n contextele politice aferente. Marile drame ale R?zboiului Rece, ridicarea ?i c?derea Zidului Berlinului, Criza Rachetelor Cubaneze, atacurile de la 11 septembrie 2001, r?zboiul din Irak – toate aceste evenimente care au marcat istoria reprezint? fundalul pentru pove?tile adev?rate cu spioni.Corera prezint? cazurile interesante ale celor care au spionat, au min?it, au ?n?elat ?i, ?n unele cazuri, chiar ?i-au pierdut via?a ?n slujba ??rii pe care au servit-o. ?i oric?t de palpitante ar fi c?r?ile sau filmele cu spioni, ve?i vedea c?, cel pu?in aici, via?a bate filmul.

The present ebook comprises the complete writings of William Shakespeare (37 plays, 160 sonnets, 5 poetry books). It comes with 150 original illustrations which are the engravings John Boydell commissioned for his Boydell Shakespeare Gallery.------------Contents:COMEDIES:The Comedy of ErrorsThe Taming of the ShrewThe Two Gentlemen of VeronaLove’s Labor’s LostA Midsummer Night’s DreamThe Merchant of VeniceThe Merry Wives of WindsorMuch Ado about NothingAs You Like ItTwelfth Night, or What You WillThe History of Troilus and CressidaAll’s Well That Ends WellMeasure for MeasureHISTORIES:The First Part of Henry the SixthThe Second Part of Henry the SixthThe Third Part of Henry the SixthThe Tragedy of Richard the ThirdThe Life and Death of King JohnThe Tragedy of King Richard the SecondThe First Part of Henry the FourthThe Second Part of Henry the FourthThe Life of Henry the FifthThe Famous History of the Life of King Henry the EighthTRAGEDIES:The Tragedy of Titus AndronicusThe Tragedy of Romeo and JulietThe Tragedy of Julius CaesarThe Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of DenmarkThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of VeniceThe Tragedy of King LearThe Tragedy of MacbethThe Tragedy of Antony and CleopatraThe Tragedy of CoriolanusThe Life of Timon of AthensROMANCES:Pericles, Prince of TyreCymbelineThe Winter’s TaleThe TempestThe Two Noble KinsmenPOEMS:Venus and AdonisThe Rape of LucreceSonnetsA Lover’s ComplaintThe Passionate PilgrimThe Phoenix and Turtle

In this fascinating collection culled from teachings never before brought together in book form, Krishnamurti offers wise reflections and fresh perceptions on love, politics, society, death, self-censorship, relationships, solitude, meditation, spiritual growth, and much more. Thought provocative meditations and in-depth answers, Krishnamurti answers such timeless questions as: What is meditation? What are love and loneliness? What should our relationship to authority really be? Meeting Life also features a number of Krishnamurti’s talks, delivered in Switzerland, India, England, and California. Here is the profound wisdom of a beloved teacher who moved millions with his words. This thought-provoking and inspirational volume will provide strength and encouragement to anyone searching for insight.

Marele romancier face o incursiune ?n trecutul nu foarte ?ndep?rtat al Rom?niei, trat?nd anii dictaturii ro?ii f?r? p?rtinire, ?ncerc?nd o radiografie crud?, impar?ial? ?i – lucru extrem de rar ?n Balcani – radical? a unei jum?t??i de secol de istorie.Cartea e destinat? studen?ilor, elevilor, profesorilor, precum ?i publicului larg de cititori.

Cine-ar fi crezut c? lumea afacerilor poate fi at?t de fascinant? ?i plin? de dramatism? 350 de milioane de dolari investite ?ntr-un model de automobil plin de imperfec?iuni, f?r? s? fie g?sit m?car un responsabil pentru acest e?ec; ascensiunea spectaculoas? a unei mici companii produc?toare de h?rtie fotografic? p?n? la actualul gigant Xerox, ?nceput? de o m?n? de oameni care ?i-au riscat chiar ?i averea personal? pentru o inova?ie revolu?ionar?; b?t?lia titanic? dus? de Rezerva Federal? a Statelor Unite pentru ap?rarea lirei sterline de atacurile speculatorilor; sunt doar c?teva dintre exemplele ce arat? c?, ?n lumea afacerilor ?i a Wall Streetului, oamenii pot da dovad? fie de geniu, spirit de cooperare ?i ?n?elepciune, fie de ?nc?p???nare ?i lips? de ra?iune, indiferent de miza aflat? ?n joc. Un avertisment c? istoria se poate oric?nd repeta.

Fascinant – cea mai bun lucrare de istorie militar din ultimii ani i o analiz edificatoare a disputelor care continu s mocneasc amenintor i azi. O carte extraordinar sub toate aspectele." – The New York Times O relatare palpitant i revelatoare a uneia dintre cele mai zbuciumate i legendare perioade din istoria secolului al XX-lea – Revolta Arab i marele joc" secret de a controla Orientul Mijlociu. CARTE INCLUS PE LISTA CELOR MAI BUNE TITLURI ALE ANULUI DE New York Times Christian Science Monitor NPR Seattle Times St. Louis Dispatch Chicago Tribune American Library Association Bazat pe cercetri extinse i intense, munc asidu n arhive, Lawrence n Arabia aduce o nou perspectiv asupra modului n care s-a configurat lumea Orientului Mijlociu. Cu o aciune de proporii epice, portretizri expresive, accente critice n condamnarea distrugerilor provocate de comploturile coloniale europene, volumul surprinde strlucit felul n care nesbuina trecutului declaneaz suferina prezentului. Printre numeroasele istorii individuale din Primul Rzboi Mondial care vor fi povestite i repovestite n cadrul centenarelor commemorate ntre 2014 i 2018, cea a lui T.E. Lawrence iese n eviden… Cartea lui Anderson nu putea fi mai oportun. Acum, cnd atenia ntregii lumi se concentreaz asupra Siriei i Egiptului, este uluitor s priveti n urm cu o sut de ani i s vezi un tablou asemntor…. Apelnd la o distribuie bogat, Anderson reuete s exploreze haosul din Orientul Mijlociu de la nceputul secolului al XX-lea dintr-o varietate de perspective distincte i revelatoare totodat. O mrturie captivant, de o mare complexitate i profunzime. – The New York Times Book Review Vast, hipnotic i – s ndrznim s o spunem – cinematografic n detaliu, Lawrence n Arabia ilustreaz modul n care biografia i istoria se poteneaz reciproc. – The Wall Street Journal Absorbii de mcelul ce avea loc n traneele Europei n Primul Rzboi Mondial, combatanii occidentali acordau prea puin importan teatrului de lupt din Orientul Mijlociu. Ca urmare, conflictul de aici a fost influenat surprinztor de mult de o mn de aventurieri i ofieri de rang mrunt aflai departe de marile coridoare ale puterii: Curt Prüfer – universitar tern, ataat pe lng Ambasada German din Cairo, Aaron Aaronsohn – renumit agronom provenit din Romnia i sionist nflcrat. William Yale – descendent scptat al unei familii aristocratice americane. n centrul acestui cerc se afla Lawrence – la nceputul lui 1914, doar un arheolog care lucre la spturi prin deerturile Siriei. n 1917 ajunsese deja cea mai romantic figur din Primul Rzboi Mondial, luptndu-se att cu inamicii Marii Britanii, ct i cu propriul guvern pentru a-i transforma n realitate viziunea sa asupra destinului poporului arab. Drumurile ncruciate ale acestor patru personaje – intrigile pe care le-au pus la cale, btliile pe care le-au purtat, trdrile pe care le-au suferit sau le-au uneltit ei nii – oglindesc grandoarea, complexitatea i tragedia rzboiului din deert.

El arte de la guerra es un libro sobre tácticas y estrategias militares, inspirado por Sun Tzu, un famoso autor militar.

Volumul Dic?iunea ideilor, apar?in?nd profesorului Mircea Martin de la Facultateade Litere a Universit??ii Bucure?ti, este o contribu?ie valoroas? ?i original? la analiza unui raport extrem de important ?n teoriile socio-umane ale cunoa?terii, anume raportul dintre natural, artificial ?i autentic, aplicat asupra discursului metaliterar. Cartea se constituie ca o ?nsumare de analize a acestui raport ?n opera unor teoreticieni ai fenomenului literar rom?ni ?i str?ini: Tudor Vianu, G. C?linescu, B. Fondane, Matei C?linescu, Marcel Raymond, Roland Barthes, Carlos Bouso?o, Jaap Linnvelt. Departe de a fi o simpl? ?nsumare de analize aplicate, cartea este de fapt o critic? aconceptelor folosite deopotriv? de cercetarea antropologic?, cea estetic? ?i cea pur literar? ?i o contribu?ie esen?ial? la un proces de inserare ?nmodernitate a culturii rom?ne. Contribu?iile teoreticienilor rom?ni sunt v?zute ?n raportul lor de originalitate-sincronicitate cu cele ale cercet?torilor str?ini, ?nscriindu-se ?ntr-un proces de organicitate care implic? categorii culturale largi.

Demersul Antoanetei Olteanu, reputat? traduc?toare de limba rus? ?iexpert? ?n istoria cultural? a Rusiei, se distinge at?t prin calitatea informa?iilor, adesea inedite, c?t ?i prin compozi?ia complex?, care ?mbin? viziunea sintetic? cu o perspectiv? transcultural? exersat?. Cartea se recomand? de la sine at?t cititorului profesionist, care g?se?te aici o serie de date altfel greu accesibile, c?t ?i celui interesat de istoria ?i cultura Europei ?n ansamblu. Dup? cum anun?? ?i subtitlul, lucrarea reconstituie o istorie cultural? a secolului al XIX-lea, realiz?nd, ?n fapt, o fresc? a uneia dintre cele mai captivante perioade din istoria Rusiei, cea imperial?. Datele prezentate acoper? practic toate Aspectele vie?ii politice, sociale, economice ?i culturale ale acestui interval de timp, marcat at?t de aura ?arilor, c?t ?i de nenum?ratele revolte populare. Tabloul evenimentelor majore este ?ntregit cu minu?ioase inventare de titluri nobiliare, cu date economice consemnate cu acribie, cu o expunere vie a panoramei cutumelor sociale, familiale ?i religioase, merg?nd de la modalit??ile de confec?ionare a juc?riilor sau a bijuteriilor p?n? la istorii ale ceaiului sau vodcii. Atmosfera epocii cap?t? un contur des?v?r?it prin citarea unor fragmente din lucr?ri ?tiin?ifice de referin??, din jurnalele de c?l?torie ?i din publicistica vremii, dar ?i din operele marilor scriitori ai vremii, ca Dostoievski, Gogol ?i Tolstoi. Se contureaz?, astfel, o imagine neconven?ional? a Rusiei, o na?iune confruntat? permanent cu tensiunea unei alegeri fundamentale, care pune ?n opozi?ie modelul str?in ?i inegalabila for?? intern?. Autoarei ?i revine meritul de a fi surprins aspectele esen?iale ale acestei tensiuni, cu ample ecouri ?n perioadamodern? ?i cu evidente efecte asupra mentalit??ii contemporane.

Lucrarea inedit? a lui Nathan Belofsky se concentreaz? asupra ideilor ?i practicilor medicale acceptate de-a lungul veacurilor, pe scar? larg?, ale doctorilor reali, nu ale vracilor ?i aproape to?i doctorii men?iona?i erau figuri medicale importante ale acelor vremuri. Autorul prezint? c?teva dintre cele mai r?sp?ndite practici ?ocante sau ?ndoielnice din fiecare epoc?, ?ncep?nd cu Antichitatea ?i continu?nd cu Evul Mediu, Rena?terea, perioada modern? ?i secolul al XX-lea. Cartea se afl? sub semnul insolitului ?i readuce la via?a, ?ntr-o manier? narativ? ?i deseori umoristic?, momente mai pu?in cunoscute din istoria medicinei. ,,Cartea este o comoar? de fapte uluitoare.“Los Angeles Examiner