Author: Marcia Bartusiak File Type: pdf For more than half a century, physicists and astronomers engaged in heated dispute over the possibility of black holes in the universe. The weirdly alien notion of a space-time abyss from which nothing escapesnot even lightseemed to confound all logic. This engrossing book tells the story of the fierce black hole debates and the contributions of Einstein and Hawking and other leading thinkers who completely altered our view of the universe. Renowned science writer Marcia Bartusiak shows how the black hole helped revive Einsteins greatest achievement, the general theory of relativity, after decades during which it had been pushed into the shadows. Not until astronomers discovered such surprising new phenomena as neutron stars and black holes did the once-sedate universe transform into an Einsteinian cosmos, filled with sources of titanic energy that can be understood only in the light of relativity. This book celebrates the hundredth anniversary of general relativity, uncovers how the black hole really got its name, and recounts the scientists frustrating, exhilarating, and at times humorous battles over the acceptance of one of historys most dazzling ideas. ** For more than half a century, physicists and astronomers engaged in heated dispute over the possibility of black holes in the universe. The weirdly alien notion of a space-time abyss from which nothing escapesnot even lightseemed to confound all logic. This engrossing book tells the story of the fierce black hole debates and the contributions of Einstein and Hawking and other leading thinkers who completely altered our view of the universe. Renowned science writer Marcia Bartusiak shows how the black hole helped revive Einsteins greatest achievement, the general theory of relativity, after decades during which it had been pushed into the shadows. Not until astronomers discovered such surprising new phenomena as neutron stars and black holes did the once-sedate universe transform into an Einsteinian cosmos, filled with sources of titanic energy that can be understood only in the light of relativity. This book celebrates the hundredth anniversary of general relativity, uncovers how the black hole really got its name, and recounts the scientists frustrating, exhilarating, and at times humorous battles over the acceptance of one of historys most dazzling ideas.**

Author: Michael Kazin File Type: pdf In The Populist Persuasion, the distinguished historian Michael Kazin guides readers through the expressions of conflict between powerful elites and the people that have run through our civic life, filling it with discord and meaning from the birth of the United States until the present day. Kazin argues persuasively that the power of populism lies in its adaptable nature. Across the political spectrum, commentators paste the label on forces and individuals who really have just one big thing in common they are effective at blasting elites or the establishment for harming the interests and betraying the ideals of the people in nations that are committed, at least officially, to democratic principles. Kazins classic book has influenced debates over populism since its publication. The new preface to this edition brings the story up to date by charting the present resurgence of populist discourse, which was front and center in the 2016 elections and in the Brexit debate. **From Publishers Weekly If populism now seems something of a fashion statement, Kazin (Barons of Labor) ably reveals its rich and textured history. Activists from varied backgrounds have sought to invoke and speak to the masses since the late-19th-century Peoples Party mobilized agrarians and artisans. Kazin chronicles the place of populism in the labor and socialist movements of the Progressive era, prohibitionism and the crusades of radio cleric Charles Coughlin. After WWII, populism switched from left to right the Cold War begat Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the New Left failed to speak authentically, given their middle-class backgrounds, and George Wallace and Ronald Reagan tapped mass anxieties about race and taxes. In a society often said to be in decline, populism becomes a language of the disspirited, but Kazin observes that progressive intellectuals must take account of populism if our societys problems are to be solved. Illustrations. 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Kazin (history, American Univ.) has written a thoughtful and important book on one of the more consequential movements in American politics-populism. Tracing the emergence of populist campaigns from the 19th century to the present day, he looks at such movements as the labor movement, the prohibitionist crusade, Catholic radio populist Father Coughlin, the New Left, and the recent advance of conservative populism, as identified with such figures as George Wallace and Ronald Reagan. Kazin opens by saying, I began to write this book as a way of making sense of a painful experience the decline of the American Left, including its liberal component, and the rise of the Right. Anyone interested in either political tendency will find this book both informative and engaging. It is a powerful, elegantly written, and observant study that never fails to retain the readers interest. The books one major flaw is its naive and overly sanguine treatment of the American Communist Party. Its major selling point is its suggestive analysis of right-wing populism. Recommended for all collections. Kent Worcester, Social Science Research Council, New York 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Author: Andrei Anikin File Type: pdf The fascinating history of gold as a measure of value and a metal of money analysis of its intrinsic economic meaning in class-divided societies its historic role in the international monetary system.

Author: Rebecca Messbarger File Type: pdf Anna Morandi Manzolini (1714-74), a woman artist and scientist, surmounted meager origins and limited formal education to become one of the most acclaimed anatomical sculptors of the Enlightenment. The Lady Anatomist tells the story of her arresting life and times, in light of the intertwined histories of science, gender, and art that complicated her rise to fame in the eighteenth century. Examining the details of Morandis remarkable life, Rebecca Messbarger traces her intellectual trajectory from provincial artist to internationally renowned anatomical wax modeler for the University of Bolognas famous medical school. Placing Morandis work within its cultural and historical context, as well as in line with the Italian tradition of anatomical studies and design, Messbarger uncovers the messages contained within Morandis wax inscriptions, part complex theories of the body and part poetry. Widely appealing to those with an interest in the tangled histories of art and the body, and including lavish, full-color reproductions of Morandis work, The Lady Anatomist is a sophisticated biography of a true visionary. **Review Rebecca Messbargers sympathetic and insightful account into Anna Morandi Manzolinis life and work, based on a wealth of original research, brings Morandi to life by offering a virtual tour of her arresting vision of the human body. A pleasure to read, The Lady Anatomist allows us to view Morandis world while taking the reader through the extant corpus of her surviving work including her anatomical writings.This book is avisually stunning project filled with rich illustrations and images that demonstrate the fusion of art and science that characterized the medical community at this time and illustrate the contexts in which Morandi thrived as well as the conditions that prevented her from fully realizing the possibilities of her unique position. Morandi has long deserved to be studied in her own right and Messbarger does that here with equal degrees of passion, skill, and engagement. (Paula Findlen, Stanford University) In The Lady Anatomist, Rebecca Messbarger shakes the dust of historical neglect from Anna Morandi Manzolinis life and reclaims for her the international renown she enjoyed in the eighteenth century. Uncovering Morandis innovations in the realm of experimental anatomy, Messbarger analyzes the learned lady anatomists provocative representations of particular body parts in wax within a nuanced cultural history of Bolognas scientific institutions. The Lady Anatomist is a story that needs to be told, filled with new, wonderful, and compelling material. Londa Schiebinger, author of Natures Body Gender in the Making of Modern Science (Londa Schiebinger, author of Natures Body Gender in the Making of Modern Scien) This astonishing and greatly informative account . . . paints a rich canvas of the political, cultural, and scientific life of eighteenth-century Italy and Bologna specifically. . . . May this work have many readers! (The Journal of Clinical Investigation) Rebecca Messbargers Lady Anatomist is a wonderful, richly illustrated book. . . . Not only has Messbarger come up with new material on Morandis life, she also successfully manages to combine this with recent historiographical discussions on the importance of materiality and of doing hands-on science. . . . [The Lady Anatomist] offers a rich and valuable insight into eighteenth-century anatomical practices. (Social History of Medicine) The Lady Anatomist is nonetheless a pathbreaking book and a major contribution to the histories of science, women and art. Beautifully written, thoroughly documented, and wonderfully illustrated, it is a pleasure to read. (Eighteenth-Century Studies) Messbargers passionate, extensively illustrated biography and her deep exploration of the Bolognese archives offer an excellent basis for further investigations into recent concerns among historians of science with the role of the household, display and affect in the shaping of modern science. Meanwhile, The Lady Anatomist is a timely biography of a fascinating figure at the nexus between art and science in the eighteenth century. (British Journal of History of Science) More than a biography, this rich narrative outlines the religious, political, cultural, and scientific life of eighteenth-century Italy, specifically Bologna. Messbarger . . . explores these contexts to suggest how a female artist-scientist could succeed in spite of the prejudices and sanctioned restrictions against a woman professional. Anna Morandi and her remarkable workso beautifully illustrated in The Lady Anatomistdemands the attention of art historians and scientists of various research interests. There is much for us to learn here, not the least of which is the importance of these scholarly communities to one another, both historically and today. (Womens Art Journal) Rebecca Messbarger has filled the gap with a beautiful book based on extensive research in Italian archives and thoughtful analysis of Morandis work within the contexts of contemporary anatomy and learned culture. . . . Her analysis of Morandis self-portrait, or visual autobiography, is both sensual and illuminating, as is the chapter dealing with Morandis work on the sensory organs. Messbarger also provides an excellent account of the process of making wax models. . . . The many photographs make The Lady Anatomist an attractive volume, but they are also brilliantly employed as an integral part of the narration. They make me wish I could some day go back to Bologna to see Morandis waxes again. Thanks to Messbarger, I would see them in a new light. (Journal of the History of Medicine) About the Author Rebecca Messbarger is associate professor in romance languages at Washington University in St. Louis and the coeditor and cotranslator of The Contest for Knowledge Debates over Womens Learning in Eighteenth-Century Italy,**also published by the University of Chicago Press.