The Recovery


Book Description

"In ancient times, there was an earth-shattering battle. The God And Devil s all perished or entered the cycle of reincarnation. After that shocking battle, the entire world changed. There were only normal living things left in the world. After who knows how many years had passed, the ancient expert began to be revived one after another. The living beings were about to face a great calamity, and the heaven and earth would change once again because of this. If these cruel Devil Clan ruled the world, then these ordinary life forms would be like grass, and would be wantonly slaughtered by the Devil Clan's people.An ancient God Race Expert had successfully reincarnated, but he was an orphan who had been abandoned. Fortunately, he had been adopted by someone with good intentions, placed under someone else, and suffered through many hardships. However, what he did not know was that the people around him were all reincarnations of expert from the Primordial Era. When their souls recovered, how would he face all of this? When he realised that the person he loved the most was the killing machine of Devil Clan, where would he go?"Would he be able to save all the living creatures in the world, turn the tide, and kill off all of the Devil Clan in one fell swoop?"




Recovering Consolation


Book Description

Although Tolkien's letters call Samwise Gamgee the "chief hero" of The Lord of the Rings, Sam is easily underestimated by both readers and critics. Recovering Consolation focuses attention on Sam's point of view throughout the long journey that is the novel. This book responds to Frodo's famous words at the Stairs of Cirith Ungol, imagining a child speaking to a parent: "I want to hear more about Sam, dad; why didn't they put in more of his talk, dad? That's what I like, it makes me laugh. And Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam, would he, dad?" Listening to Sam not only makes us laugh but also shows him to be, like Tolkien himself, a master of mythopoesis; as the novel's narrator puts it, "Sam had more on his mind than gardening." Yet the concrete act of gardening, another passion that Sam shares with Tolkien, should help us to understand how consolation is recovered, as is well explained in Tolkien's great essay, "On Fairy Stories." Both there and in The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien offers a "theological aesthetic" that has much to teach us. Although we may not realize it while laughing along with Sam, this humble servant-hobbit is key to this aesthetic.




Music of the Soviet Era: 1917-1991


Book Description

This volume is a comprehensive and detailed survey of music and musical life of the entire Soviet era, from 1917 to 1991, which takes into account the extensive body of scholarly literature in Russian and other major European languages. In this considerably updated and revised edition of his 1998 publication, Hakobian traces the strikingly dramatic development of the music created by outstanding and less well-known, ‘modernist’ and ‘conservative’, ‘nationalist’ and ‘cosmopolitan’ composers of the Soviet era. The book’s three parts explore, respectively, the musical trends of the 1920s, music and musical life under Stalin, and the so-called ’Bronze Age’ of Soviet music after Stalin’s death. Music of the Soviet Era: 1917–1991 considers the privileged position of music in the USSR in comparison to the written and visual arts. Through his examination of the history of the arts in the Soviet state, Hakobian’s work celebrates the human spirit’s wonderful capacity to derive advantage even from the most inauspicious conditions.







Splendors of Quanzhou, Past and Present


Book Description

This open access book explores the past and present of Quanzhou (Zayton) and the rich diversity and tolerance that kindled Quanzhou's innovativeness and helped it prosper both commercially and culturally--values that are today being embraced by China's global trade partners. Quanzhou (Zayton), Marco Polo's port of departure and Columbus' goal in China, was not only the start of the Maritime Silk Road and the Middle Age’s greatest port but also centuries ahead of its time in its tolerance and diversity. The fabled "City of Light" had 7 mosques for its 40,000 Muslims, some of whom served in government, as well as 3 Franciscan cathedrals funded in part by the emperor, Jewish synagogues, and centers for Nestorian Christians, Hindus, Taoists, Manicheans, Jains, etc. As Franciscan Bishop Andrew of Perugia wrote in 1322, "Tis a fact that in this vast empire, there are people of every nation under heaven, and every sect, and all and sundry are allowed to live freely according to their creed." In 2021, UNESCO designated "Quanzhou, Emporium of the World," as a world heritage site, and the city is now the hub of the Belt and Road Initiative, the 21st Century Silk Road, which was inspired by ancient Quanzhou.
















Early Scottish Melodies


Book Description