Obliteration

“Scary amazing fun.”—Brad Meltzer Evils both above and below ground arise once again, threatening the world and all its inhabitants with extinction in this electrifying science fiction thriller—the final novel set in the Awakened universe—from the #1 internationally bestselling author and star of television’s Impractical Jokers and a bestselling science fiction writer. Thanks to the heroics of former New York City Mayor Tom Cafferty and his team, the world is once again safe. The villainous Foundation for Human Advancement has been dismantled, the cities of the world are safe from nuclear annihilation, and Cafferty is now on a hunt to decimate every nest of creatures on the planet. When Cafferty enters a nest underneath the Nevada desert, he is horrified to find it completely empty. It can only mean one thing: the battle for survival is not over. Across the planet, creatures are emerging from their subterranean homes. Now, the all-out war against humanity has begun—a war in which only one apex species will survive. Humankind has finally met its match. Cafferty knows that only one man can help him stop the onslaught. A man who is despised by the world. A man who has already caused the death of millions. A man who is a sworn enemy hell-bent on taking Tom Cafferty down forever: Albert Van Ness. But even this desperate move may not be enough to stop the creatures and save humanity . . .

Emmanuel Levinas defines obliteration as a central concept with which to think about art. The interview with Françoise Armengaud is one of Levinas' rare statements focusing on the fine arts. Levinas has become influential in various disciplines through his ethics, which he thinks decisively from the face of the other. Yet his reflections on aesthetics are rarely engaged with, and when questions are asked about the face in art--and thus about the interrelationship of ethics and aesthetics--the main focus has been on his comments on literature. In this interview Levinas talks about the work of the French sculptor Sacha Sosno, and the complex relationship between ethics and aesthetics becomes no longer aligned with the face and language, but with iconic thinking and artistic operations and practices. Levinas understands obliteration as an 'unavailable,' an uncanny, disruptive concept. In doing so, he turns away from the "ease and lighthearted casualness of the beautiful" and to the processes of material wear and tear and the traces of their repair. He affirms these for their creative potential in developing a uniqueness of presence.The interview is supplemented by photographs by André Villers of Sosno's works, a foreword by Johannes Bennke and an epilogue by Dieter Mersch.

Yayoi Kusama: Give Me Love documents the artist's most recent exhibition at David Zwirner, New York, which marked the US debut of The Obliteration Room, an all-white, domestic interior that viewers are invited to cover with dot stickers of various sizes and colors. Widely recognized as one of the most popular artists in the world, Yayoi Kusama has shaped her own narrative of postwar and contemporary art. Minimalism and Pop art, abstraction and conceptualism coincide in her practice, which spans painting, sculpture, performance, room-sized and outdoor installation, the written word, films, fashion, design, and architectural interventions. Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Japan, Yayoi Kusama briefly studied painting in Kyoto before moving to New York City in the late 1950s. In the mid-1960s, she established herself in New York as an important avant-garde artist by staging groundbreaking happenings, events, and exhibitions. Now in her late 80s, Kusama is entering one of the richest creative periods of her life. Immersed in her studio six days a week, Kusama has spoken of her renewed dedication to creating art over the past years: “[N]ew ideas come welling up every day….Now I am more keenly aware of the time that remains and more in awe of the vast scope of art.” Taking The Obliteration Room as its centerpiece, this catalogue reveals, in vivid large-scale plates, the transformation of the space from a clean white interior to a stunningly saturated room, with ceilings, walls, and furniture covered in myriad multicolored stickers put there by viewers over the course of the exhibition. The catalogue also includes beautiful reproductions of Kusama's new large-format paintings from My Eternal Soul series. Ranging from bright and densely pixelated forms, to umber figures with darker blues and muted oranges, these paintings demonstrate the artist's striking command of color, and her exceptional control over balance and contrast. Bold brushstrokes hover between figuration and abstraction; vibrant, animated, and intense, these paintings introduce their own powerful pictorial logic, at once contemporary and universal. The catalogue continues with a selection of new, large Pumpkin sculptures, a form that Kusama has been exploring since her studies in Japan in the 1950s, and which gained prominence in the 1980s, continuing to remain an essential part of her practice. Made of shiny stainless steel and featuring painted dots or dot-shaped perforations that recall The Obliteration Room, these immersive works seem created on human scale, with the tallest measuring 70 inches (178 cm). Vibrant plates capture how color, shape, size, and surface merge in these sculptures and mesmerize the viewer. Texts include a "Hymn to Yayoi Kusama" by art critic and poet Akira Tatehata and a poem by the artist herself.

Since 1939, the Symposium Neuroradiologicum has been held every 4 years in various cities throughout the world. Great neuroradiologists such as Taveras, Du Boulay, Greitz, Lindgren, and DiChiro have been among the presidents of the previous symposia. The XV Symposium Neuroradiologicum was held in Kumamoto from 25 September through 1 October 1994. More than 1,200 participants gathered to discuss the most recent developments, including interventional neuroradiology, functional imaging, MRI contrast media, new techniques in MRI, iodinated contrast media and other advances. The communications are presented in this book. Special lectures held by Drs. Dillon, Harwood-Nash, and Picard are included. This book covers the most recent advances in neuroradiology.

"Murray and Wearmouth's latest THE BRINK is a white-knuckled rollercoaster. This novel is chocked full of everything I love: strange creatures, a world teetering on the edge, and heroes who I'd want at my side during any firefight. This isn't just a story hopped on steroids--but one injected with nitrous and blazing on all cylinders. Give me more!" --James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestseller of Crucible The sequel to the international bestseller (including #1 Sunday Times bestseller) Awakened, by one of the stars of TruTV's Impractical Jokers and a bestselling science fiction author. Former NYC Mayor Tom Cafferty has been haunted by the horror of a single day. The opening of the brand new Z-train subway line beneath the Hudson River--the supposed shining moment of his tenure. But the ribbon-cutting ceremony turned deadly when the train carrying Cafferty's wife and other citizens was attacked by a horde of hyper intelligent, bloodthirsty creatures previously unknown to humanity. Everything changed for Cafferty, ex-NYPD officer Sarah Bowcut, and tech-expert Diego Munoz that day. They had uncovered the deadly truth: the attack was no accident. And now the creatures that wreaked havoc underneath New York have spread worldwide, and with a massive cover-up--and a secret organization holding nations hostage with the knowledge of how to kill them--Cafferty's team must fight against impossible odds to save the entire planet from an apocalyptic scale disaster. An explosive and thrilling international adventure, the stakes are even higher in the latest book from bestselling duo James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth!