I.B. Tauris – The Bell Bookshop

Palestine

Emma — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This rich and magisterial work traces Palestine’s millennia-old heritage, uncovering cultures and societies of astounding depth and complexity that stretch back to the very beginnings of recorded history.Starting with the earliest references in Egyptian and Assyrian texts, Nur Masalha explores how Palestine and its Palestinian identity have evolved over thousands of years, from the Bronze Age to the present day. Drawing on a rich body of sources and the latest archaeological evidence, Masalha shows how Palestine’s multicultural past has been distorted and mythologised by Biblical lore and the Israel-Palestinian conflict.In the process, Masalha reveals that the concept of Palestine, contrary to accepted belief, is not a modern invention or one constructed in opposition to Israel, but rooted firmly in ancient past. Palestine represents the authoritative account of the country’s history.

The Nile

Emma — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

“[A] vivid travelogue.” New Statesman“Has much to offer.” The Spectator“Sparks the imagination.” BBC History Magazine “A fascinating study.” BBC History Revealed Magazine “Essential reading.” All About History“Valiant, valuable and entertaining.” Times Literary SupplementThe greatest river in the world has a long and fascinating history. Professor Terje Tvedt, one of the world’s leading experts on the history of waterways, travels upstream along the river’s mouth to its sources. The result is a travelogue through 5000 years and 11 countries, from the Mediterranean to Central Africa. This is the fascinating story of the immense economic, political and mythical significance of the river. Brimming with accounts of central characters in the struggle for the Nile – from Caesar and Cleopatra, to Churchill and Mussolini, and on to the political leaders of today, The Nile is also the story of water as it nourished a civilization.

Short History Of The Reformation

Emma — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

When, in October 1517, Martin Luther pinned his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg he shattered the foundations of western Christendom. The Reformation of doctrine and practice that followed Luther’s seismic action, and protest against the sale of indulgences, fragmented the Church and overturned previously accepted certainties and priorities. But it did more, challenging the relationship between spiritual and secular authority, perceptions of the supernatural, the interpretation of the past, the role of women in society and church, and clerical attitudes towards marriage and sex. Drawing on the most recent historiography, Helen L Parish locates the Protestant Reformation in its many cultural, social and political contexts. She assesses the Reformers’ impact on art and architecture; on notions of authority, scripture and tradition; and – reflecting on the extent to which the printing press helped spread Reformation ideas – on oral, print and written culture.

Aleppo: Rise & Fall of Syria’s Merchant

Emma — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Revised and updated.A poignant testament to the city shattered by Syria’s civil war.Aleppo lies in ruins, a casualty of Syria’s brutal civil war. Its streets are cloaked in darkness, its population scattered, its memories ravaged. But this was once a vibrant world city, where Muslims, Christians and Jews lived and traded together in peace. Few places are as ancient and diverse. At the crossroads of global trade, Aleppo drew merchants from Venice, Isfahan and Agra to the largest souq in the Middle East and it was from here that some of the world’s most enduring food, music and culture sprang.

Death Of The Artist

Emma — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

There exists a series of contemporary artists who continually defy the traditional role of the artist/author, including Art & Language, Guerrilla Girls, Bob and Roberta Smith, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd and Lucky PDF. In Death of the Artist, Nicola McCartney explores their work and uses previously unpublished interviews to provoke a vital and nuanced discussion about contemporary artistic authorship. How do emerging artists navigate intellectual property or work collectively and share the recognition? How might a pseudonym aid ‘artivism’? Most strikingly, she demonstrates how an alternative identity can challenge the art market and is symptomatic of greater cultural and political rebellion. As such, this book exposes the art world’s financially incentivised infrastructures, but also examines how they might be reshaped from within. In an age of cuts to arts funding and forced self-promotion, this offers an important analysis of the pressing need for the artistic community to construct new ways to reinvent itself and incite fresh responses to its work.

Strolling through Florence

Emma — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

To walk through Florence is to step into one of the most remarkable histories of any European city. From its establishment by Julius Caesar in the first century BC, through its Golden Age at the epicentre of the Italian Renaissance, to its position as an iconic cultural destination in the twenty-first century, Florence is a small city that packs a lot of punch. This is the city of Dante and Boccaccio, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, the Medici, Botticelli, Donatello and the `Mad Monk’ Savonarola. Their stories permeate every corner of Florence, but the city’s contemporary scene is just as alluring, from cutting edge art and fashion to food. It is only by exploring Florence on foot that the visitor can truly experience everything the city has to offer.

Jane Austens England A Walking Guide

Emma — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

It is impossible to fully appreciate Jane Austen without experiencing the landscapes which inspired her. Jane Austen's England - the first book of its kind - takes the reader on a series of walking tours into the very heart of her world. These fifteen picturesque walks describe the country houses, churches, great estates, and elegant cities that were the settings for her novels and introduce the reader to the real-life people she met, many of whom became characters in her books. This is an indispensable guide for all Austen fans, some of the sights include Godmersham House, the inspiration for Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice, the view from Box Hill, scene of the 'exploring party' in Emma, Lyme Regis' treacherous Cobb in Persuasion, Bath's Assemmbly Rooms in Northanger Abbey, and many more.

Andalucia

Emma — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Andalucia is the quintessence of Spain and yet, historically and culturally, it is surprisingly unlike the rest of the country. Its literary history began to develop with the Romans and reached an early flowering when Arabic poets drew on centuries of literary tradition, together with the landscapes and passions of Moorish Spain. Later, Prosper Mérimée, Byron and Washington Irving forged legends of exotic southern Spain that persist to this day and Spanish writers themselves captured the rich tapestry of Andalucian culture, from Cervantes’ Seville to the Córdoba of Baroque poet Luis de Góngora and Lorca’s ‘hidden Andalucia’. With the advent of the Civil War, a new generation flocked to Andalucia and were inspired to write some of the twentieth century’s most iconic works of literature, from Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls to Gerald Brenan’s The Spanish Labyrinth and Laurie Lee’s trilogy of books. As vibrant and compelling as the region itself, Andalucia: A Literary Guide for Travellers illuminates the very soul of Spain.

Short History Of The Normans

Emma — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

The Battle of Hastings in 1066 is the one date forever seared on the British national psyche. It enabled the Norman Conquest that marked the end of Anglo-Saxon England. But there was much more to the Normans than the invading army Duke William shipped over from Normandy to the shores of Sussex. How a band of marauding warriors established some of the most powerful dominions in Europe – in Sicily and France, as well as England – is an improbably romantic idea. In exploring Norman culture in all its regions, Leonie V Hicks is able to place the Normans in the full context of early medieval society. Her wide ranging comparative perspective enables the Norman story to be told in full, so that the societies of Rollo, William, Robert (Guiscard) and Roger are given the focused attention they deserve. From Hastings to the martial exploits of Bohemond and Tancred on the First Crusade; from castles and keeps to Romanesque cathedrals; and from the founding of the Kingdom of Sicily (1130) to cross-cultural encounters with Byzantines and Muslims, this is a fresh and lively survey of one of the most popular topics in European history.