Sheer Opulence

Nicholas Haslam is one of the world's finest interior designers, sought by rock stars, royalty, and the aristocracy alike. His interiors have chutzpah and a touch of opulence that seduce you the momentyou catch a glimpse. Rooms look glamorous and sexy, yet liveable in, practical, and, above all, flattering to their owner and their surroundings. He makes great use of the completely unexpected and is known for effects such as linen carpets, silver-papered ceilings, slashed leather curtains, and Picasso-inspired fabric footstools. Sheer Opulence, with specially commissioned photography by David Montgomery, reveals Haslam's decorating secrets and instinctive approach to both classic and contemporary interiors in a visual diary with Haslam's own watercolor plans accompanying the stunning photographs of rooms around the world. * The first book from the rock stars' and royalty's favorite interior designer. * Previously published in hardcover by Watson-Guptill (ISBN:082347970). * His autobiography, Redeeming Features, is published by Random House.

Grace O'Malley is unique as the only woman recorded on the famous Baptista Boazio map of Ireland (1599), a tribute to the status she achieved as a leader on land and at sea in the 16th century. In 1979 Anne Chambers' original biography of this famous Irishwoman, who over the centuries had been airbrushed from historical record, put her on the map once again. The biography became a milestone in Irish publishing and the catalyst for the restoration of Grace O'Malley to political, social and maritime history, as well as establishing her as an inspirational female role model in the classroom.In the 40th anniversary edition of this international bestselling biography, drawn from rare contemporary manuscript records, the author presents Ireland's great pirate queen not as a vague mythological figure but as one of the world's most extraordinary female leaders. Political pragmatist and tactician, rebel, intrepid mariner and pirate, wife, lover, mother, grandmother and matriarch, the 'most notorious woman in all the coasts of Ireland', Grace O'Malley challenged and triumphed over the social and political barriers she encountered in the course of her long, pioneering life.Breaching boundaries of gender imbalance and bias in a period of immense social and political upheaval and change, Grace O'Malley rewrote the rules to become one of the world's first recorded feminist trailblazers.This updated anniversary edition brings Grace O'Malley's story to a new generation awakened to the global focus on gender equality as well as positive ageing.

Chronicles the period in evolution during which human beings progressed from simians to hominids, citing the pivotal roles of climate, ecology, and geological movements while predicitng future changes.

This book offers an introduction to popular Hindi cinema, a genre that has a massive fan base but is often misunderstood by critics, and provides insight on topics of political and social significance. Arguing that Bollywood films are not realist representations of society or expressions of conservative ideology but mediated texts that need to be read for their formulaic and melodramatic qualities and for their pleasurable features like bright costumes, catchy music, and sophisticated choreography, the book interprets Bollywood films as complex considerations on the state of the nation that push the boundaries of normative gender and sexuality. The book provides a careful account of Bollywood’s constitutive components: its moral structure, its different forms of love, its use of song and dance, its visual style, and its embrace of cinephilia. Arguing that these five elements form the core of Bollywood cinema, the book investigates a range of films from 1947 to the present in order to show how films use and innovate formulaic structures to tell a wide range of stories that reflect changing times. The book ends with some considerations on recent changes in Bollywood cinema, suggesting that despite globalization the future of Bollywood remains promising. By presenting Bollywood cinema through an interdisciplinary lens, the book reaches beyond film studies departments and will be useful for those teaching and studying Bollywood in English, sociology, anthropology, Asian studies, and cultural studies classes.

We have all been there, reading a newspaper, listening to the radio, watching television. There was a murder today at, wherever? Some criminal was blasted to death in a blaze of gunfire. A man was shot in his driveway this evening. Some person has gone missing. Another kid dies of a drug overdose. The police are again investigating pedophilia on the internet. This is the todays news. We look. We listen. We see. But do we care? In some cases people will exhibit apprehension. Or in the case of the criminal, mumble good riddance, and as long as its not our kid using, we turn to the next page. Listen to the next item if its radio or, change channels on the TV. Whatever! That is generally all we think, until you find yourself staring at the results of a gangland hit spread all over a kitchen bench and the victim is an acquaintance. Then you find out, things about him you could never imagine. You begin to discover, what horrific things happen to ordinary people, in the place you call home. Its then you have to make a decision. Do you continue to ignore these issues or, do you try to make a difference? Well, do you?

This new edition of Rome in the East expands on the seminal work of the first edition, and examines the lasting impact of the near Eastern influence on Rome on our understanding of the development of European culture. Warwick Ball explores modern issues as well as ancient, and overturns conventional ideas about the spread of European culture to the East. This volume includes analysis of Roman archaeological and architectural remains in the East, as well as links to the Roman Empire as far afield as Iran, Central Asia, India, and China. The Near Eastern client kingdoms under Roman rule are examined in turn and each are shown to have affected Roman, and ultimately European, history in different but very fundamental ways. The highly visible presence of Rome in the East – mainly the architectural remains, some among the greatest monumental buildings in the Roman world – are examined from a Near Eastern perspective and demonstrated to be as much, if not more, a product of the Near East than of Rome. Warwick Ball presents the story of Rome in the light of Rome’s fascination with the Near East, generating new insights into the nature and character of Roman civilisation, and European identity from Rome to the present. Near Eastern influence can be seen to have transformed Roman Europe, with perhaps the most significant change being the spread of Christianity. This new edition is updated with the latest research and findings from a range of sources including field work in the region and new studies and views that have emerged since the first edition. Over 200 images, most of them taken by the author, demonstrate the grandeur of Rome in the East. This volume is an invaluable resource to students of the history of Rome and Europe, as well as those studying the Ancient Near East.

DIV What makes a work of literature good or bad? How freely can the reader interpret it? Could a nursery rhyme like Baa Baa Black Sheep be full of concealed loathing, resentment, and aggression? In this accessible, delightfully entertaining book, Terry Eagleton addresses these intriguing questions and a host of others. How to Read Literature is the book of choice for students new to the study of literature and for all other readers interested in deepening their understanding and enriching their reading experience. In a series of brilliant analyses, Eagleton shows how to read with due attention to tone, rhythm, texture, syntax, allusion, ambiguity, and other formal aspects of literary works. He also examines broader questions of character, plot, narrative, the creative imagination, the meaning of fictionality, and the tension between what works of literature say and what they show. Unfailingly authoritative and cheerfully opinionated, the author provides useful commentaries on classicism, Romanticism, modernism, and postmodernism along with spellbinding insights into a huge range of authors, from Shakespeare and J. K. Rowling to Jane Austen and Samuel Beckett. /div