Eternal Ephemera


Book Description

All organisms and species are transitory, yet life endures. The origin, extinction, and evolution of species—interconnected in the web of life as "eternal ephemera"—are the concern of evolutionary biology. In this riveting work, renowned paleontologist Niles Eldredge follows leading thinkers as they have wrestled for more than two hundred years with the eternal skein of life composed of ephemeral beings, revitalizing evolutionary science with their own, more resilient findings. Eldredge begins in France with the naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, who in 1801 first framed the overarching question about the emergence of new species. The Italian geologist Giambattista Brocchi followed, bringing in geology and paleontology to expand the question. In 1825, at the University of Edinburgh, Robert Grant and Robert Jameson introduced the astounding ideas formulated by Lamarck and Brocchi to a young medical student named Charles Darwin. Who can doubt that Darwin left for his voyage on the Beagle in 1831 filled with thoughts about these daring new explanations for the "transmutation" of species. Eldredge revisits Darwin's early insights into evolution in South America and his later synthesis of knowledge into a theory of the origin of species. He then considers the ideas of more recent evolutionary thinkers, such as George Gaylord Simpson, Ernst Mayr, and Theodosius Dobzhansky, as well as the young and brash Niles Eldredge and Steven Jay Gould, who set science afire with their concept of punctuated equilibria. Filled with insights into evolutionary biology and told with a rich affection for the scientific arena, this book celebrates the organic, vital relationship between scientific thinking and its subjects.




Eternal Ephemera


Book Description

In a world where emotions are seen as dangerous and love is considered a weakness, life unfolds in a desolate landscape devoid of color and passion. The inhabitants of this society have long forgotten the beauty of art and the power of poetry, having traded their vibrant souls for a stoic existence. Amidst this bleak reality, we find a skilled artisan, nameless but not soulless, navigating through life with a sense of emptiness. One fateful day, the artisan stumbles upon an ancient book of art and poetry hidden away in a dusty corner of their workshop. Little do they know that this discovery will mark the beginning of an extraordinary journey, one that will unravel the secrets of a suppressed past and reawaken emotions long thought to be extinct. Guided by a mysterious librarian, who seems to possess knowledge beyond their time, the artisan embarks on a profound quest of self-discovery and rebellion against the oppressive norm. Together, they delve into the forbidden pages of the ancient book, unearthing images that evoke feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, and love, emotions that have been deemed dangerous and subversive by the ruling authority. As the artisan immerses themselves in the expressive world of the forgotten book, a transformation begins within, and they experience their first taste of the forbidden emotions. Fearful yet exhilarated, the artisan must now grapple with the choice of remaining hidden, concealing their newfound awareness, or daring to confront the suffocating constraints of their society. Unbeknownst to the artisan, this journey into the heart of forgotten art and poetry will not only challenge their beliefs but also put their life at risk. The ruling authority, determined to maintain control over the populace, has eyes and ears everywhere, and the artisan's rediscovery of emotions poses a threat to their carefully crafted order. As the pursuit intensifies, the artisan finds solace in the companionship of the enigmatic librarian and discovers a hidden underground society, a clandestine group of rebels who once celebrated emotions and artistic expression. Together, they forge an alliance to liberate their souls and ignite a revolution that could change the course of their society forever. In 'Eternal Ephemera,' join our nameless artisan and their mysterious librarian companion on a gripping odyssey of rediscovering emotions, challenging societal norms, and awakening the hearts of an entire civilization. As the line between love and vulnerability blurs, will they find the courage to embrace their deepest emotions, or will the forces of suppression triumph, burying their newfound passion beneath the ashes of a colorless existence?




Memories of Prophecies


Book Description

The memories of the past may be forgotten, but prophecies linger. Cinder Shade and his fellow cadets have survived a brutal mission in the vast wilds of the Dagger Mountains. Laying to rest many of their brother warriors, they return to the Third Directorate, battered, bruised, and weary of soul. But the world turns, and new challenges press. Cinder must set aside his grief, especially when granted a task by Anya Aruyen, the elven princess with whom he shares an inexplicable bond. She urges him to further master his skills as a warrior and become worthy of fighting at her side. Others have also taken note of Cinder. His name is spoken in the high halls of elven palaces. The empress watches him, wondering at his unmatched abilities. So, too, do the dwarves. They fear Cinder, worrying that he is the embodiment of their darkest prophecies. And in the distant north, shadows gather. They whisper of their fallen god, Shet, dead three thousand years now. Whispering of his rebirth. But when the prophecies speak conflicting portents and none can decipher the truth, what path can even a consummate warrior take?




A Gentle Madness


Book Description

A Gentle Madness continues to astound and delight readers about the passion and expense a collector is willing to make in pursuit of the book. The book captures that last moment in time when collectors pursued their passions in dusty bookshops and street stalls, high stakes auctions, and the subterfuge worthy of a true bibliomaniac. An adventure among the afflicted, A Gentle Madness is vividly anecdotal and thoroughly researched. Nicholas Basbanes brings an investigative reporter's heart to illuminate collectors past and present in their pursuit of bibliomania. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year.




A Testament of Steel


Book Description

Book 1 of the Epic Fantasy series, Instrument of Omens




The Book of Disquiet: The Complete Edition


Book Description

For the first time—and in the best translation ever—the complete Book of Disquiet, a masterpiece beyond comparison The Book of Disquiet is the Portuguese modernist master Fernando Pessoa’s greatest literary achievement. An “autobiography” or “diary” containing exquisite melancholy observations, aphorisms, and ruminations, this classic work grapples with all the eternal questions. Now, for the first time the texts are presented chronologically, in a complete English edition by master translator Margaret Jull Costa. Most of the texts in The Book of Disquiet are written under the semi-heteronym Bernardo Soares, an assistant bookkeeper. This existential masterpiece was first published in Portuguese in 1982, forty-seven years after Pessoa’s death. A monumental literary event, this exciting, new, complete edition spans Fernando Pessoa’s entire writing life.




A Warrior's Path


Book Description

Two millennia ago She thundered into the skies of Arisa: Suwraith, a demon bent on Humanity's extinction. Into this world is born Rukh Shektan, a peerless young warrior from a Caste of warriors, devoted to the sanctity of his home and his way of life. He is well-versed in the keen language of swords but all his courage and skills may not save him. A challenge comes, one that threatens all he once thought true and puts at risk all he holds dear. And it will enter his life in the form of one of Humanity's greatest enemies - and perhaps its greatest allies. Worse, he will learn of Suwraith's plans. The Sorrow Bringer has dread intentions for his home. The city of Ashoka is to be razed and her people slaughtered.




The Culture and Politics of Regime Change in Italy, c.1494-c.1559


Book Description

This volume offers the first comprehensive survey of regime change in Italy in the period c.1494–c.1559. Far from being a purely modern phenomenon, regime change was a common feature of life in Renaissance Italy – no more so than during the Italian Wars (1494–1559). During those turbulent years, governments rose and fell with dizzying regularity. Some changes of regime were peaceful; others were more violent. But whenever a new reggimento took power, old social tensions were laid bare and new challenges emerged – any of which could easily threaten its survival. This provoked a variety of responses, both from newly established regimes and from their opponents. Constitutional reforms were proposed and enacted; civic rituals were developed; works of art were commissioned; literary works were penned; and occasionally, aspects of material culture were pressed into service, as well. Comparative in approach and broad in scope, it offers a provocative new view of the diverse political, culture, and economic factors, which ensured the survival (or demise) of regimes – not only in "major" polities like Florence, Rome, and Venice, but also in less-well-studied regions like Savoy. This book will appeal to researchers and students alike interested in cultural, political, and military history.




Activism on the Web


Book Description

Activism on the Web examines the everyday tensions that political activists face as they come to terms with the increasingly commercialized nature of web technologies and sheds light on an important, yet under-investigated, dimension of the relationship between contemporary forms of social protest and internet technologies. Drawing on anthropological and ethnographic research amongst three very different political groups in the UK, Italy and Spain, the book argues that activists’ everyday internet uses are largely defined by processes of negotiation with digital capitalism. These processes of negotiation are giving rise to a series of collective experiences, which are defined by the tension between activists’ democratic needs on one side and the cultural processes reinforced by digital capitalism on the other. In looking at the encounter between activist cultures and digital capitalism, the book focuses in particular on the tension created by self-centered communication processes and networked-individualism, by corporate surveillance and data-mining, and by fast-capitalism and the temporality of immediacy. Activism on the Web suggests that if we want to understand how new technologies are affecting political participation and democratic processes, we should not focus on disruption and novelty, but we should instead explore the complex dialectics between digital discourses and digital practices; between the technical and the social; between the political economy of the web and its lived critique.




Catastrophic Thinking


Book Description

A history of scientific ideas about extinction that explains why we learned to value diversity as a precious resource at the same time as we learned to “think catastrophically” about extinction. We live in an age in which we are repeatedly reminded—by scientists, by the media, by popular culture—of the looming threat of mass extinction. We’re told that human activity is currently producing a sixth mass extinction, perhaps of even greater magnitude than the five previous geological catastrophes that drastically altered life on Earth. Indeed, there is a very real concern that the human species may itself be poised to go the way of the dinosaurs, victims of the most recent mass extinction some 65 million years ago. How we interpret the causes and consequences of extinction and their ensuing moral imperatives is deeply embedded in the cultural values of any given historical moment. And, as David Sepkoski reveals, the history of scientific ideas about extinction over the past two hundred years—as both a past and a current process—is implicated in major changes in the way Western society has approached biological and cultural diversity. It seems self-evident to most of us that diverse ecosystems and societies are intrinsically valuable, but the current fascination with diversity is a relatively recent phenomenon. In fact, the way we value diversity depends crucially on our sense that it is precarious—that it is something actively threatened, and that its loss could have profound consequences. In Catastrophic Thinking, Sepkoski uncovers how and why we learned to value diversity as a precious resource at the same time as we learned to think catastrophically about extinction.