This is a unique survey of photography from its origins until now. From a delivery boy to one of the most important industrialists in American history George Eastman's career developed in a particularly American way. The founder of Kodak died in 1932 & left his house to the University of Rochester. Since 1949 the site has operated as an international museum of photography & film & today holds the largest collection of its kind in the world. The continually expanding photography collection contains over 400 000 images & negatives
- among them the work of Alfred Stieglitz Edward Steichen Ansel Adams & others
- as well as 23 000 cinema films five million film stills one of the most important silent film collections technical equipment & a library with 40 000 books on photography & film. The George Eastman House is a pilgrimage site & a place of worship for researchers photographers & collectors from all over the world. This volume shows in chronological order the most impressive images & the most important developments in the art of light that is photography. It provides in its huge collection & themes a unique survey of the medium from its origins until now.

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Preston Guild is only celebrated every twenty years & has a history stretching back to the Middle Ages more than 800 years ago. Described as our Greatest Carnival the event has changed greatly over the years: originally it was held to help regulate the towns trade then was transformed into a fashionable get-together for gentry & burgesses & more recently a celebration of civic pride famous around the country. The Guild of 2012 will be the first with Preston having city status. ...

One could not ask for a more meticulous or scholarly assessment of what Britain meant to the Romans or Rome to Britons than Peter Salways Monumental Study Frederick Raphael Sunday Times From the invasions of Julius Caesar to the unexpected end of Roman rule in the early fifth century AD & the subsequent collapse of society in Britain this book is the most authoritative & comprehensive account of Roman Britain ever published for the general reader. Peter Salways narrative takes into account the latest research including exciting discoveries of recent years & will be welcomed by anyone interested in Roman Britain. ...

Scotland is one of the oldest countries in the world with a vivid & diverse past. Yet the stories & figures that dominate Scottish history
- tales of failure submission thwarted ambition & tragedy
- often badly serve this great nation overshadowing the rich tapestry of her intricate past. Historian Neil Oliver presents a compelling new portrait of Scottish history peppered with action high drama & centuries of turbulence that have helped to shape modern Scotl&. Along the way he takes in iconic landmarks & historic architecture; debunks myths surrounding Scotland's famous sons; recalls forgotten battles; charts the growth of patriotism; & explores recent political developments capturing Scotland's sense of identity & celebrating her place in the wider world.

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Scotland's history has been badly served over the years. Defined by its relationship to England Scotland's popular history is full of near-mythical figures & tragic events her past littered with defeat failure & thwarted ambition. The martyrdom of William Wallace the tragedy of Mary Queen of Scots & the forlorn cause of Bonnie Prince Charlie all give the impression of 'poor' Scotland; a victim of misfortune leading to the country's inevitable submission to the Auld Enemy. After the Union in 1707 Scotland's increasing reliance on England culminated in a crisis of confidence & identity that tortures the country to this day. But how accurate is this version of events? Using the very latest in historical research & by placing Scotland's story in the wider context of British European & global history some of the myths that pervade the past will be exploded to reveal a Scotland which forged its own destiny often with success. ...

Thirty-six months in combat. Twenty-four years as a sniping instructor. Twenty years of exhaustive research including decades spent seeking out hundreds of historic volumes long out of print test-firing historic firearms walking Revolutionary & Civil War battlefields with a laser rangefinder & visiting military museums in the United States & Europe. Only Major John Plaster author of the highly acclaimed The Ultimate Sniper has the background & knowledge to bring you this authoritative history of sniping & sharpshooting
- the first such book from a combat riflemans unique perspective. In The History of Sniping & Sharpshooting John Plaster has assembled the most comprehensive combat history ever published on the subject. It begins in the 15th century with the first use of precision" musket fire in Europe & continues into the 21st century with the significant role sniping is playing the Iraq & Afghanistan & the global War on Terror. Detailing major engagements & minor skirmishes over five centuries of warfare Plaster has unearthed hundreds of incidents where calculated precision rifle fire has changed the course of battles
- & sometimes history. He fittingly addresses well-known sharpshooters & snipers
- Hiram Berdan Vasili Zaitsev Carlos Hathcock
- but also pays tribute to forgotten riflemen such as John Burns Benjamin Forsyth & Arthur Wermuth to name but a few. He also explains how the evolution of firearms & optical technology has intertwined with sniping on the battlefield & how it has influenced tactics organizations & capabilities
- a subject that has never before been address adequately."




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International stained glass expert Virginia Raguin traces the emergence of stained glass as a unique art form through an examination of its techniques & symbolism & the political & historical contexts both ecclesiastical & secular in which it has been displayed. From Romanesque to Gothic Revival Renaissance to Opalesque Virginia Raguin reveals her profound knowledge of the naunces of style & the aesthetics of light in this compelling field. ...

Matt Warshaw knows more about surfing that any other person on the planet. After five years of research & writing Warshaw has completed a totally unprecedented history of the sport & the culture it has spawned. With a voice that is definitive funny & wholly original The History of Surfing delivers the ultimate book for surfers everywhere. ...

In a bestselling work of profound & lasting importance the late Albert Hourani told the definitive history of the Arab people from the seventh century when the new religion of Islam began to spread from the Arabian Peninsula westwards to the present day. It is a masterly distillation of a lifetime of scholarship & a unique insight into a perpetually troubled region. This updated edition by Malise Ruthven adds a substantial new chapter which

Includes:: recent events such as 9/11 the US invasion of Iraq & its bloody aftermath the fall of the Mubarak & Ben Ali regimes in Egypt & Tunisia & the incipient civil war in Syria bringing Houranis magisterial History up to date. Ruthven suggests that while Hourani can hardly have been expected to predict in detail the massive upheavals that have shaken the Arab world recently he would not have been entirely surprised given the persistence of the kin-patronage networks he describes in his book & the challenges now posed to them by a new media-aware generation of dissatisfied youth. In a new biographical preface Malise Ruthven shows how Houranis perspectives on Arab history were shaped by his unique background as an English-born Arab Christian with roots in the Levant.

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The first issue of The Beano was published on July 30 1938. This is the first-ever history of the best-known British comic of all time reflecting on 70 memorable years. The History of The Beano charts all the characters who have appeared over the years as well as the editors artists & writers--past & present--who have contributed to this great comic institution. ...