Reprehensible

Rollicking and informative, Reprehensible: Polite Histories of Bad Behaviour is your guide through some of the most shameful behaviour indulged in by humanity’s most celebrated figures, as told by Mikey Robins, one of Australia’s most loved comedians. It is often said that we live in an era of constant outrage, but we are definitely not the inventors of outrageousness. Let’s be honest, human beings have always been appalling. Not everyone and not all the time, but our history is littered with those whose work and deeds have rendered them . . . reprehensible. Sometimes it’s our most esteemed luminaries who behave the worst. What are we to make of Catherine the Great’s extensive collection of pornographic furniture, Hans Christian Andersen’s too-much-information diary and Karl Marx’s epic pub crawls? Or hall-of-fame huckster William McCloundy, who in 1901 actually ‘sold’ the Brooklyn Bridge to an unsuspecting tourist, and the pharaoh who covered his slaves in honey to keep flies off his meal? Did you know about the royal ticklers of the House of Romanov, and the bizarre coronation rituals of early Irish kings? (Let’s just say that eating a white horse wasn’t the weirdest part of the ceremony.) So sit back and rest your conscience: there will be a host of scoundrels, bounders and reprobates, tales of lust and power aplenty, as we indulge in that sweet spot where history meets outrage, with just a bit of old-school TMZ thrown in for good measure. Praise for Reprehensible: ‘Finally, Mikey Robins has put his vulgar mind to good use, telling history’s lesser known grubby yarns. I love it!’ Tom Gleeson

It is often said that we live in an era of constant outrage, but we are definitely not the inventors of outrageousness. Let's be honest, human beings have always been appalling. Not everyone and not all the time, but our history is littered with those whose work and deeds have rendered them . . . reprehensible. Sometimes it's our most esteemed luminaries who behave the worst. What are we to make of Catherine the Great's extensive collection of pornographic furniture, Hans Christian Andersen's too-much-information diary and Karl Marx's epic pub crawls? Or hall-of-fame huckster William McCloundy, who in 1901 actually 'sold' the Brooklyn Bridge to an unsuspecting tourist, and the pharaoh who covered his slaves in honey to keep flies off his meal? Did you know about the royal ticklers of the House of Romanov, and the bizarre coronation rituals of early Irish kings? (Let's just say that eating a white horse wasn't the weirdest part of the ceremony.) So sit back and rest your conscience: there will be a host of scoundrels, bounders and reprobates, tales of lust and power aplenty, as we indulge in that sweet spot where history meets outrage, with just a bit of old-school TMZ thrown in for good measure.

Comprised of primary sources assembled from a broad chronological and geographic spectrum, Islamic Theological Themes is a comprehensive anthology of primary Islamic sacred texts in translation.Ê The volume includes rare and never before translated selections, all freshly situated and introduced with a view to opening doors into the larger world of Islamic life, belief, and culture.Ê From pre-theological material on the scriptural end of the spectrum, to the more practical material at the other, John Renard broadens our concepts of what counts as ÒIslamic theology,Ó situating Islamic theological literature within the context of the emerging sub-discipline of Relational/Comparative Theology. Divided into five parts, students and scholars will find this collection to be an indispensible tool.

In this new edition, author Steven J. Cann once again enlivens the topic of United States administrative law through the use of recent and "classic" legal cases to make it accessible and interesting to students. Administrative Law, Fourth Edition is an engaging casebook that presents a unique problem-solving framework that contrasts democracy with the administrative state. This novel approach places the often complex subject matter of U.S. administrative law into a more comprehensible context. The Fourth Edition has been completely updated and revised and includes many new cases to reflect changes in the law since the year 2000.

This collection of essays analyzes the role of demons and the devil in ancient and medieval Christianity. Proceeding from a variety of scholarly perspectives—historical, philosophical and theological, as well as philological, liturgical and theoretical—the volume’s diverse approach matches the complexity of its chosen theme.

The most divisive and damaging aspect of the church in America is the combination of racism and white supremacy that has been woven into the fabric of the church to the degree that one cannot discuss the church in America apart from this sin. Nowhere is this clearer than in American Methodism, including The United Methodist Church. That denomination, which has been divided for decades over issues regarding human sexuality and homosexuality, is a product of a long history of racism and white supremacy. While initiatives have been taken to address these matters, there has not been any effort to help the church focus on being anti-racist in its practices or public witness at every level, including local church levels. This is a book that identifies this sin and offers an innovative look at the mission of the church, based on biblical witnesses to new life with the resurrection. It offers proposals for reparations and renewal that will come when the church woke.

This important new text is the product of several years of research of the family law of fifteen Commonwealth Caribbean jurisdictions. It is the first and only legal text that comprehensively covers all the main substantive areas of spousal family law, including marriage, divorce, financial support, property rights and domestic violence. The rights of the statutory spouse in the jurisdictions of Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago are examined, thus addressing, on a jurisdictional basis, an important area of spousal family that is seldom covered in English family law texts. The book also covers the number and variations of divorce regimes applicable to the region – the matrimonial offence divorce model of Guyana and Montserrat, the English five fact model of Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Grenada, Anguilla, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, the hybrid model of Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and St Kitts and Nevis, and the no fault model of Jamaica and Barbados. This book will prove an indispensable resource for law students and legal academics, as well as for family law practitioners across the English-speaking Caribbean. Other professionals, including sociologists and social workers, will also find the book useful and informative.