Spanning seven centuries this selection of fifty iconic paintings offers readers a crash course in art history while presenting gorgeous colour reproductions that are a pleasure to contemplate. Starting with Giotto's Arena Chapel frescoes & continuing through Botticelli's The Birth of Venus da Vinci's Mona Lisa Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring as well as works by Monet van Gogh Cassatt Cezanne Dali Kahlo Hopper Pollock Rothko & O' Keeffe nearly every important painter is represented in this book. It features works that may be familiar to the eye but whose histories are even more fascinating. Readers will learn about the painters who created them the reasons for their importance & the places the paintings can be found. As entertaining as it is informative this beautiful book is the perfect introduction to great paintings that have stood the test of time. ...

Which fifty people made Britain the wreck she is? From ludicrous propagandist Alastair Campbell to the Luftwaffes allies the modernist architects its time to name the guilty. Quentin Letts sharpens his nib & stabs them where they deserve it from TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh the dumbed-down buffoon who put the h in Aspidistra to the perpetrators of the Credit Crunch. Margaret Thatcher ruptured our national unity. The creators of East Enders" trashed our brand over high tea. Thus he argues are the people who made our country the ugly scheming cheating beer-ridden bum of the Western world. Here are the fools & knaves & vulgarians who ripped down our British glories & imposed the tawdry & the trite. In a half century we have gone from end-of-Empire to descent-into-Hell." ...

Have you ever lain awake at night fretting over how we can be sure of the reality of the external world? Perhaps we are in fact disembodied brains floating in vats at the whim of some deranged puppet-master? If so you are not alone
- & whats more you are in exalted company. For this question & other ones like it have been the stuff of philosophical rumination from Plato to Popper. In a series of accessible & engagingly written essays 50 Philosophy Ideas You Really Need to Know introduces & explains the problems of knowledge consciousness identity ethics belief justice & aesthetics that have engaged the attention of thinkers from the era of the ancient Greeks to the present day.
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Whether you want to get more from your DSLR or are simply looking for new creative avenues to explore 50 Photo Projects shows you how to break out of your comfort zone & try something new. Packed with invaluable tips on how to create stunning photographs Lee Frost provides the bright ideas that will reinvigorate your photography from inspiration on what to photograph to inventive projects with vintage pinhole & toy cameras. ...

At a time of corrosive popular cynicism & profound international unease the need for clarity over the fundamental concepts of politics has never been greater: the forces of Terrorism & Fundamentalism endanger our Security while government responses to it pose a basic threat to Liberty Democracy & Human rights. Corruption Spin & a suspect Political culture arouse public indignation which is further aggravated by an array of Pressure groups & the far-from-disinterested attentions of the Mass media. In 50 Political Ideas You Really Need to Know Ben Dupre clears away the murk that obscures key concepts that we ignore at our peril. Justice Liberty Human rights The social contract Democracy Tyranny Federalism Utopianism Political violence Revolution & change Political culture Monarchism Republicanism Secularism Conservatism Liberalism Socialism Communism Fascism Anarchism Fundamentalism Multiculturalism Labour movement Womens movement Green politics Pressure groups Constitutions Parliaments Presidential systems Elections Parties Civil service/bureaucracy Intelligence agencies Mass media Spin & propaganda Wealth & poverty Crime & punishment Security & defence Terrorism Welfare Race Corruption Political correctness Realists & idealists War & peace Nations & nationalism Imperialism Isolationism United Nations Globalization. ...

You may have winced when The Sun accused the French of being weasels over Iraq. You may have shuddered when the U.S. Congress decided to rename French fries. You might even have sighed sadly when the French rejected the European Constitution theyd written themselves out of pure frenchiness. But come on admit it: deep down theres something in all of us that likes to take a swipe at our Gallic friends... And this book provides you with fifty painstakingly researched wittily written reasons to back up your prejudices. From an analysis of Frances greatest military victories (Did you mean French military defeats"?) to a review of its most pungent cheeses from an examination
- at arms length
- of their personal hygiene to close-up pen portraits of French personalities like De Gaulle Napoleon & Serge Gainsbourg the Quasimodo of French Pop this book answers every question youve ever had about the French
- except one: Why only fifty?"


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Great for baby blankets throws & afghans the zig-zag stitch patterns in this collection are ideal for beginning & experienced crocheters. Filled with 55 color photographs this go-to reference features both open lacy stitches & solid textured patterns. Artisans are afforded a bevy of options when choosing their preferred yarn & hook in the creation of projects such as Accent Gentle Swells Glacier Peaks Standout Chevron Sweethearts Fringed Fling & Cozy Clusters. ...

This title contains 50 stimulating & original activities including foaming monsters hanging crystals & kaleidoscopes. It offers a fresh & exciting approach to the practical world of science combining creative arts & crafts activities with the basics of physics chemistry & biology. Every card contains a separate activity that is beautifully illustrated & shows clear step-by-step instructions. It is spiral bound to allow easy use & transportation & means no card will ever get lost! ...

These cards bring a fresh & exciting approach to the practical world of science combining creative arts & crafts activities with the basics of physics chemistry & biology. This title contains 50 stimulating & original activities including foaming monsters hanging crystals & kaleidoscopes. Each activity is safe & simple to carry out using the step-by-step instructions & uses objects & materials that can be easily found. The cards are durable & robust making them ideal for repeated use. ...

For centuries artists have been expressing their ideas faith passion & rage in three-dimensional works that reflect historical eras tell stories reveal mysteries & even create scandals. Starting from ancient times & continuing through the Classical Gothic Renaissance Baroque Romantic & Modern periods this collection introduces readers to the artists & works that make sculpture such an exciting medium to explore. Among the artists included in the book are Michelangelo Bernini Rodin Duchamp Giacometti Calder Moore Beuys de Saint Phalle & Bourgeois. From the Madonna of Essen the oldest known sculpture of the Virgin Mary to the sinuous metal sheets that make up Richard Serra's Matter of Time each work is presented in spreads that offer beautiful photographs biographical profiles of the artists historical context & anecdotal information. Broader texts describe various eras & styles as the book moves chronologically toward the present day providing an art history lesson for everyone. ...