World Art History

Hans Memling, a painter from Flanders, is the holder of an unfortunate record. He painted a triptych, The Last Judgment, commissioned by Medici banker Angelo Tani. The paintings were intended for a new chapel in Fiesole in Tuscany, near the city of Florence. However, in April 1472, the ship on which they were being transported from Bruges to Florence was intercepted by Polish privateer and Danzig Town Council leader Paul Beneke.

From the beginning of time, music has been used to build community and empower people. Music is a strong force that has led movements; marched influential changemakers and innovators to rhythms that have shaped the world. In the 21st century, music continues to play a pivotal role in inspiring positive change and moving people to tackle some of the biggest social issues of our times.

Intimate and richly detailed, The Beauty of Living begins with E. E. Cummings's Cambridge upbringing and his relationship with his socially progressive but domestically domineering father. It follows Cummings through his undergraduate experience at Harvard, where he fell into a circle of aspiring writers including John Dos Passos, who became a lifelong friend. Steeped in classical paganism and literary Decadence, Cummings and his friends rode the explosion of Cubism, Futurism, Imagism, and other "modern" movements in the arts.

"Diamond Is Fragile was one of my favorite books from my late grandfather's library. Much to my surprise (and dismay) it was only published once in the former Soviet Union approximately 50 years ago and (to the best of my knowledge) has never been published abroad. I was inspired to translate Diamond Is Fragile into English by my father-in-law - Thom Seymour, Sr. - due to his passion for geology and history (topics amply covered in the book). I hope that other English-speaking readers who are interested in these disciplines will enjoy it as well." (Maria K., translator)

Celebrate the impact women have made in our culture: This feminist book is a beacon of brilliance. It is the perfect gift for artists, intellectuals, and anyone who seeks to be inspired by words and profound lives. Most of all, it is a celebration of the journeys and accomplishments of women who have worked to have their voices heard in black and white letters across the world.

The 1960s were a time of huge transformation, sustained and amplified by the music of that era: Rock and Roll. During the 19th and 20th centuries visionary and esoteric spiritual traditions influenced first literature, then film. In the 1960s they entered the realm of popular music, catalyzing the ecstatic experiences that empowered a generation. Exploring how 1960s rock and roll music became a school of visionary art, Christopher Hill shows how music raised consciousness on both the individual and collective levels to bring about a transformation of the planet.

Walden is a work by noted transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and to some degree a manual for self-reliance. First published in 1854, Walden details Thoreau's experiences over the course of two years, two months, and two days in a cabin he built near Walden Pond amid woodland owned by his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, near Concord, Massachusetts.

The fascinating Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is remembered for her self-portraits, her dramatic works featuring bold and vibrant colors. Her work brought attention to Mexican and indigenous culture, and she is also renowned for her works celebrating the female form. Brown's story recounts Frida's beloved pets - two monkeys, a parrot, three dogs, two turkeys, an eagle, a black cat, and a fawn - and playfully considers how Frida embodied many wonderful characteristics of each animal.

As humans, we often wonder about our heroes’ (and, perhaps, our enemies’) opinions on the most assorted of topics. Mark Twain’s speech “Cigars and Tobacco” serves to satiate such curiosities. In it, he details his storied history with those two substances and his search for the “worst cigar in the New York Market.” It’s a brief treat for anyone who’s ever wondered about Twain’s tobacco consumption, or simply wants to read some miscellaneous wit from this literary master.

"Know thyself" - this fundamental imperative appeared for the first time in ancient Greece. For the Greeks, self-knowledge and identity were the basics of their civilization and their sources were to be found in where one was born and into which social group. These determined who you were and what your duties were. In this book the independent scholar Ingrid Rossellini surveys the major ideas that, from Greek and Roman antiquity through the Christian medieval era up to the dawn of modernity in the Renaissance, have guided the Western project of self-knowledge.

A los trece años, la niñez de Charlie Quinn llegó a un brusco y desolador final. Dos hombres, con asuntos pendientes con su padre, que era abogado, irrumpieron en su casa y después de esa terrible noche el mundo de Charlie no volvió a ser el mismo. Ahora que ella también era abogada, se había propuesto defender a aquellos de los que nadie se preocupaba nunca. Por eso, cuando Flora Faulkner, una adolescente huérfana, le pidió ayuda, Charlie se acordó de su pasado y no fue capaz de decirle que no.

In 2008, American journalist Jere Van Dyk was kidnapped and held for 45 days. At the time, he had no idea who his kidnappers were. They demanded a ransom and the release of three of their comrades from Guantanamo, yet they hinted at their ties to Pakistan. In The Trade, Jere Van Dyk uses the sinuous path of his own kidnapping to explain the recent rise in the taking of Western hostages across the greater Middle East.

Tras el rotundo éxito de William Ospina con Pa' que se acabe la vaina, Enrique Serrano escribe aquí su propia visión del pasado y el futuro del país desde una acera ideológica distinta y con un resultado igualmente notable.

Pronto una gran película de Christopher Nolan. La épica historia de Dunkirk, mayo de 1940: cuando más de 300.000 tropas aliadas atrapadas fueron dramáticamente rescatadas de la destrucción a manos de la Alemania Nazi por una extraordinaria evacuación vía marítima.

L'histoire de la comtesse Matilde et de son territoire : L'histoire, les Canossa (les origines, la famille, les biens), les personnages, Mathilde de Canossa, Henri IV, Grégoire VII, Henri V, les châteaux, les paroisses rurales (pievi), les bourgs de l'Apennin, le paysage, l'axe directeur de Mathilde, l'artisanat artistique/l'ars canusina et les produits œnogastronomiques.

La storia della Contessa Matilde e del suo territorio: La Storia, I Canossa (le origini, la famiglia, i possedimenti), I personaggi, Matilde di Canossa, Enrico IV, Gregorio VII, I castelli, Il sistema fortificato canossano, Le Pievi, La direttrice matildica, Il Circuito dei Castelli matildici e delle corti reggiane, L'attualità di Canossa, L'artigianato artistico: l'ars canusina, I prodotti enogastronomici e Le strade dei vini e dei sapori.

Here are the two most treasured documents of American freedom together on one audiobook. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 as an act of rebellion, the Declaration of Independence powerfully expresses the political principles of an emerging nation. Ratified in 1788, the Constitution for the United States remains a shining example of patriotism and compromise.

On August 4, 1940, an unassuming American journalist named Varian Fry made his way to Marseilles, France, carrying in his pockets the names of approximately 200 artists and intellectuals - all enemies of the new Nazi regime. As a volunteer for the Emergency Rescue Committee, Fry’s mission was to help these refugees flee to safety, then return home two weeks later. As more and more people came to him for assistance, however, he realized the situation was far worse than anyone in America had suspected.

The Diary of Samuel Pepys is perhaps the most well known collection of reminiscences. He maintained it, in secrecy, from 1660, the year of the Restoration, until 1669 when fear of blindness prevented his daily labours. Though it covers less than a decade, it offers a lively and detailed insight into a period and a personality, for he noted events in both public and private life. Famous passages include descriptions of The Plague and the Great Fire of London.

Juan Quezada, one of Mexico's most famous potters, used his creative gifts to transform his impoverished village of laborers into a thriving artists' community.