Author: Richard J. Wallace File Type: pdf Can you nameAll five movements of Beethovens Missa solemnis. Check.The films that Kurosawa based on Western works. Check.Dantes Nine Circles of Hell. Check.If so, youre off to an edifying start--but thats just round one in this hard-hitting match of wits and wisdom. Take the formidable plunge--and find out if you are truly well versed enough to call yourself an aspiring pundit, poet, and philosopher. Either way, youll be worthy of the esteemed moniker intellectual by the time youve gone the distance with this book. (As Thoreau is our witness.)Whether you are just beginning to suspect youre the possessor of superior acumen or youd bet your Homeric Greek translation of The Iliad on it, this book is an essential addition to any personal library.**

Author: Arnold Hauser File Type: pdf First published in 1951 Arnold Hausers commanding work presents an account of the development and meaning of art from its origins in the Stone Age through to the Film Age. Exploring the interaction between art and society, Hauser effectively details social and historical movements and sketches the frameworks in which visual art is produced.This new edition provides an excellent introduction to the work of Arnold Hauser. In his general introduction to The Social History of Art, Jonathan Harris asseses the importance of the work for contemporary art history and visual culture. In addition, an introduction to each volume provides a synopsis of Hausers narrative and serves as a critical guide to the text, identifying major themes, trends and arguments.ReviewUnrivalled in its scope and ambition, Arnold Hausers classic study can be placed alongside the writings of Schapiro, Wolfflin, and Panofsky as a critical contribution to the development of the history of art as discipline.Alan Wallach, College of William and MaryThis is an exciting, an irritating, a scholarly and an absolutely indispensable book.Art News and ReviewsHausers work repays reading because it was and remains the only comprehensive scholarly synthesis of the history of art from the perspective of historical materialism.Whitney DaviesAbout the AuthorArnold Hauser was born in Hungary and studied literature and the history of art at the universities of Budapest, Vienna, Berlin and Paris. In 1921 he returned to Berlin to study economics and sociology under Ernst Troeltsch. From 1923 to 1938 he lived in Vienna where he began work on The Social History of Art. He lived in London from 1938 until 1977, when he returned to his native Hungary. He died in Budapest in 1978. Jonathan Harris is Senior Lecturer in Art History and Critical Theory at the University of Keele. He is the author of Federal Art and National Culture The Politics of Identity in New Deal America (1995), co-author of Modernism in Dispute Art Since The Forties (1993) and co-editor of Art in Modern Culture An Anthology of Critical Texts (1992).

Author: John R. Talbott File Type: pdf John Talbotts call to revitalize American democracy also contains a powerful message for the rest of the world namely, that democratic governance and the rule of law constitute the key to economic development. Its a compelling message that deserves the widest possible hearing. --Carl Gershman, President, National Endowment for Democracy This is a fascinating and ambitious book. Not everybody will agree with the arguments. But I believe everybody will be challenged and stimulated by them. --Daron Acemoglu, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyClearly written and told with passion and conviction, Where America Went Wrong lays before us a compelling picture of an America that is under siege by corporations, special interests, and the rich and powerful. It is our very future as a democracy that is at stake. The book deserves to be read by everyone who cares about America. --D. Quinn Mills, Professor, Harvard Business SchoolWho believes that America is currently living up to its potential? Is the American government being responsive to its citizens? Are the American and world economies as strong as they could be? Are Americans as happy as they could be? Why has world opinion turned strongly against America?While the symptoms indicate there is something fundamentally wrong with America, the remedy is very specific--we have lost our democratic tradition. The question for America no longer comes down to Democrats vs. Republicans or liberals vs. conservatives or free-market libertarians vs. anti-globalists, but rather to a simple formulation of the people vs. the elites. Some might argue that such delineation might initiate a class war.Wake up! The class war has already begun.Something has gone terribly wrong in America. The bastion of democratic freedom in the world is ignoring its own democratic traditions at home and abroad, and the results are immediate and painful. World opinion of America has dropped precipitously. The world economy has stalled, especially in Africa and Latin America. Americans are consuming more and enjoying it less. The world is not at peace. It is time for Americans and members of the world community who are unhappy to stand up and raise their voices. Elites, big corporations, and special interests have had their failed day in the sun, and now it is time to return America to its people.The solution is democratic reform. Talbott shows how greater direct democracy can revitalize not just our politics, but our economy as well. Voting rights, constitutional rights, human rights, democratic institutions, a free press, civil liberties, and especially rights to assemble and speak are important not just in the worlds repressive regimes but also in America, which has seen a long erosion of these basic rights so important to her peoples prosperity and individual freedoms.Americas next great political battle wont be fought between Democrats and Republicans it will be fought between elitists and populists. This book begins that battle. Reviving democracy in America Who stole our country--and how to get it back--or did we just let them take it without a fight?Failing democracy, failing economy Why a strong American economy requires a strong democracyCorporations are not people Ending corporate dominance in American politicsBig media Whatever happened to the free press?

Author: Christopher D. M. Atkins File Type: pdf The painters of the Dutch Golden Age have a reputation for favoring a dark, serious aesthetic and subdued, everyday scenes over the bravado of their Catholic counterparts. But in fact, Dutch paintings of this period often contain witty visual puns and a fierce vibrancy in their choice of color and subjects. No one more exemplifies this lushness and vividness more than Frans Hals.This richly illustrated volume considers Halss lively brush strokes and distinctive handling of paint within the context of Dutch Golden Age painting as a whole, and itprovides powerful insight into his influence during his own time and for generations afterward. Christopher D. M. Atkins looks at the world in which Hals lived, mining the Dutch economy, as well as Halss relationships with clients, pupils, and assistants, in order to gain a fuller grasp of the evolution of Halss instantly recognizable style. A thoughtful study of the commercial and artistic concerns that shaped Halss work, this book reflects on ideas of authorship, consumption, and subjectivity in early modern Europe. Combining smart historical analysis and a deep understanding of Dutch consumer culture with a strong sense of Hals as an artist, The Signature Style of Frans Hals offers a wholly new understanding of both the painter and his world.With discussions of two of Halss most famous paintings, The Laughing Cavalier and The Gypsy Girl, this book is required reading for scholars of economic history, art historians, and anyone interested in gaining a deeper insight into life and times of this Dutch master.**