This work displays & defines the fruits of thousands of years of black African creative endeavour. All the objects included were made by Africans for their own use, spanning a period from the beginning of the first millennium to the early 20th century, before the commercial production of art aimed at the tourist trade. Jean-Baptiste Bacquart, has divided Africa south of the Sahara into 49 cultural areas. Each section studies the most important tribe within the area, surveying its social & political structures as well as its artistic production. The art is analyzed according to type
- in most instances masks, statues, & everyday objects, such as utensils, furniture & jewelry. Where appropriate, further information on artistically related tribes is then provided. Each section contains its own bibliography. A detailed reference section with information on key collectors, collections open to the public & a glossary completes this publication.
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The diverse peoples of Britain & Ireland are revealed not only by physical characteristics but also through structures & settlements, place names & dialects. Using the latest genetic & archaeological research, the author shows how different peoples traded, settled & conquered, establishing the `tribal` & regional roots still apparent today. Its vast scope considers the impact of prehistoric peoples & Celtic tribes, Romans & Vikings, Saxons & Normans, Jews & Huguenots, as well as the increasing population movements of the last century. ...

From the corner of a darkened room Joy Stone watches herself. As memories of the deaths of her lover & mother surface unbidden, life for Joy narrows
- to negotiating each day, each encounter, each second; to finding the trick to keep living. Told with shattering clarity & wry wit, this is a Scottish classic fit for our time.
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On a summer morning in Sarajevo a hundred years ago, a teenage assassin named Gavrilo Princip fired not just the opening shots of the First World War but the starting gun for modern history, when he killed Archduke Franz Ferdin&. Yet the events Princip triggered were so monumental that his own story has been largely overlooked, his role garbled & motivations misrepresented. The Trigger puts this right, filling out as never before a figure who changed our world & whose legacy still has an impact on all of us today. Born a penniless backwoodsman, Princip`s life changed when he trekked through Bosnia & Serbia to attend school. As he ventured across fault lines of faith, nationalism & empire, so tightly clustered in the Balkans, radicalisation slowly transformed him from a frail farm boy into history`s most influential assassin. By retracing Princip`s journey from his highland birthplace, through the mythical valleys of Bosnia to the fortress city of Belgrade & ultimately Sarajevo, Tim Butcher illuminates our understanding both of Princip & the places that shaped him. Tim Butcher uncovers details about Princip that have eluded historians for a century & draws on his own experience, as a war reporter in the Balkans in the 1990s, to face down ghosts of conflicts past & present. The Trigger is a rich & timely work that brings to life both the moment the world first went to war & an extraordinary region with a potent hold over history. ...

On a summer morning in 1914, a teenage assassin named Gavrilo Princip fired not just the opening shots of the First World War but the starting gun for modern history, when he killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. A hundred years later, Tim Butcher undertakes an extraordinary journey to uncover the story of this unknown boy who changed our world forever. By retracing Princip`s journey from his highland birthplace, through the mythical valleys of Bosnia to the fortress city of Belgrade & ultimately Sarajevo, he illuminates our understanding both of Princip & the places that shaped him while uncovering details about Princip which have eluded historians for a century. ...

This is shortlisted for the 2013 Costa Biography Award. Why were so many authors of the greatest works of literature consumed by alcoholism? In The Trip to Echo Spring, Olivia Laing takes a journey across America, examining the links between creativity & drink in the work & lives of six extraordinary men: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, John Berryman, John Cheever & Raymond Carver. Beautiful, captivating & original, The Trip to Echo Spring strips away the myth of the alcoholic writer to reveal the terrible price creativity can exert. ...

We live in a world of seeds. From our morning toast to the cotton in our clothes, they are quite literally the stuff & staff of life: supporting diets, economies, & civilizations around the globe. Just as the search for nutmeg & pepper drove the Age of Discovery, coffee beans fueled the Enlightenment & cottonseed sparked the Industrial Revolution. Seeds are fundamental objects of beauty, evolutionary wonders, & simple fascinations. Yet, despite their importance, seeds are often seen as commonplace, their extraordinary natural & human histories overlooked. Thanks to this stunning new book, they can be overlooked no more. This is a book of knowledge, adventure, & wonder, spun by an award-winning writer with both the charm of a fireside story-teller & the hard-won expertise of a field biologist. A fascinating scientific adventure, it is essential reading for anyone who loves to see a plant grow. ...

Gary Fuller`s entertaining & engaging guide enhances geographic know-how with good, old-fashioned fun, using trivia to open up new worlds of knowledge for all readers. Often dismissed as unimportant, trivia here highlights issues that are far from trivial, pondering, for example, what peaceful country requires citizens to keep guns in their homes? what continent contains at least 75 percent of the world`s fresh water? & why aren`t New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, & Philadelphia the capitals of their respective states? An inveterate traveler & geographer extraordinaire, Fuller provides extensive background, clear illustrations, & thorough explanations for each intriguing question, carefully grounding the text in practical geographic concepts. Both enjoyable & enlightening, this book challenges today`s global generation to truly get to know their world. ...

The Troll longs for a juicy goat to eat -- but he`s stuck with boring old fish for supper. Bother! Meanwhile, Hank Chief & his pirate crew love fish, but without a decent recipe their slimy, soggy dinner is even worse. If only they could find their buried treasure & pay for a ship`s cook.. .but it seems they`ve sailed to the wrong isl&. Again. Watch the fun unfold as two very different worlds collide in a gloriously comic story from the creators of the highly acclaimed TYRANNOSAURUS DRIP. ...

Made famous by Sir Walter Scott the Trossachs retains its hold on the Scottish imagination as one of the most romantic areas of the country. With its great hero Rob Roy & its wooded landscape of glens & lochs it is a constantly changing & constantly renewing land & one of the most visited parts of the country. Full of romantic ruins & glorious scenery, this is the first full colour book to focus solely & in depth on this beautiful country. ...