Hideous Absinthe


Book Description

Mysterious, sophisticated, alluring and almost Satanic, absinthe was the drink of choice of Baudelaire, Verlaine and Wilde. It inspired Degas, Manet and Picasso and was thought to have led to the demise of many of Paris' fin-de-siecle inhabitants. Jad Adams recounts the drink's history.




Madness in Plural Contexts: Crossing Borders, Linking Knowledge


Book Description

This volume was first published by Inter-Disciplinary Press in 2012. What are we to make of madness in contemporary times? Are we to study its various facets, following the traditional path? Or should we turn towards a less explored territory? Madness in Plural Contexts: Crossing Borders, Linking Knowledge represents a decisive turn towards the social and cultural in contemporary understandings of madness. While it retains a focus on the diagnosis and interpretation of madness, it focuses on mad identities in literature and the media. It shows that the boundaries between the psychiatric/psychological and the social/cultural are blurred. Madness appears on stage fuelled by absinthe, across pages of novels, detective TV shows and philosophical and theoretical dialogues. It continues to be haunted by religious connotations, while becoming a subtext of social exclusion in contested cultural geographies. Madness becomes the rhythm of human life in the face of late modernity’s unquenchable thirst for perfection, success and progress.




Gender, Space, and the Gaze in Post-Haussmann Visual Culture


Book Description

Relying on a range of visual and written sources, Gender, Space, and the Gaze offers fresh ways of considering how masculinity and femininity were lived in late nineteenth-century Paris. The book moves beyond shopworn dichotomies, rooted in Baudelaire’s "The Painter of Modern Life" (1863), that have shaped scholarship on this period.




Insiders' Guide® to New Orleans


Book Description

Experience the buzz of Bourbon Street and the French Quarter. Savor midnight mystery and simple pleasures. • A personal, practical perspective for travelers and residents alike • Comprehensive listings of attractions, restaurants, and accommodations • How to live & thrive in the area—from recreation to relocation • Countless details on shopping, arts & entertainment, and children's activities




How to Drink Like a Writer


Book Description

Pairing 100 famous authors, poets, and playwrights from the Victorian age to today with recipes for their iconic drinks of choice, How to Drink Like a Writer is the perfect guide to getting lit(erary) for madcap mixologists, book club bartenders, and cocktail enthusiasts. Do you long to trade notes on postmodernism over whiskey and jazz with Haruki Murakami? Have you dreamed of sharing martinis with Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton after poetry class? Maybe a mojito—a real one, like they serve at La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana—is all you need to summon the mesmerizing power of Hemingway's prose. Writer’s block? Summon the brilliant musings of Truman Capote with a screwdriver—or, “my orange drink,” as he called it—or a magical world like J.K. Rowling’s with a perfect gin and tonic. With 100 spirited drink recipes and special sections dedicated to writerly haunts like the Algonquin of the New Yorker set and Kerouac’s Vesuvio Cafe, pointers for hosting your own literary salon, and author-approved hangover cures, all accompanied by original illustrations of ingredients, finished cocktails, classic drinks, and favorite food pairings, How to Drink Like a Writer is sure to inspire, invoke, and inebriate—whether you are courting the muse, or nursing a hangover. Sure, becoming a famous author takes dedication, innate talent, and sometimes nepotism. But it also takes vodka, gin, tequila, and whiskey.




Introductory Science of Alcoholic Beverages


Book Description

Introductory Science of Alcoholic Beverages provides readers an engaging introduction to the science behind beer, wine, and spirits. It illustrates not only the chemical principles that underlie what alcoholic beverages are, why they are the way they are and what they contain, but also frames them within the context of historical and societal developments. Discussed chapter topics include introductions to beer, wine, and spirits; the principles behind fermentation and distillation; and overviews of how each beverage class is made. The chapters highlight the unique chemistries that lend beer, wine, and spirits their individuality, as well as the key chemicals that impart their characteristic aroma and flavor profiles. This book goes beyond focused descriptions of individual alcoholic beverages by summarizing their common chemical lineage and illuminating the universal scientific principles that underpin them. It will be of interest to students of physics and chemistry, as well as enthusiasts and connoisseurs of beer, wine, and spirits.




Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl [2 volumes]


Book Description

From the earliest times, humans have enjoyed dining and entertainment with family and friends, from sharing a simple meal to an extravagant feast for a special celebration. In this two-volume set, entries tell the history of wedding and religious customs, holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, and modern day get togethers such as block parties and Superbowl parties. Providing a worldwide perspective on celebration, entries on topics such as Dim Sum, La Quinceanera Parties, Deepavali, and Juneteenth cover many cultures. In addition, entries on Ancient Rome, Medieval entertaining, and others give an inside view as to what entertaining was like during those times, should readers want to recreate these themes for school projects or club banquets. Whether a student of history or world language class, or an adult planning a theme party, there is something in Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl for everyone.




The Last Word


Book Description

'A sprinkling of delightful nuggets about the uses and abuses of the English Language' Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year '[There are] myriad delights in Ben Macintyre's musings on language' The Times, Books of the Year _____________________ Do you know your geek-speak from your geek-chic? Ever wanted to put Humpty Dumpty together again? Can you distinguish Spanglish from Chinglish? We adapt words from other languages, from slang, from developments in science, literature and art. Learn the advantages of having your own signature word; why the lifts in the House of Commons have posh accents; and discover the discreet art of the loophemism. Witty and utterly delightful, The Last Word will tease, tickle and tantalise those who enjoy all things lexical.




The Politics of Historical Memory and Commemoration in Africa


Book Description

Essays in Memory of Jan-Georg Deutsch The volume observes some of the principles that drove Prof. Jan-Georg Deutsch's research: highlighting present-day politics for the way they shape historical remembrance, learning from people on the ground through fieldwork and oral history, and bringing various parts of the African continent into discussion with one another. From Cape Town to Charlottesville, many societies are grappling with historical consciousness and the production of public memory. In particular, how and why societies remember and forget, what should serve as symbols of collective memory, and whether there exists space for multiple memory cultures are questions being vigorously debated once again. These discussions present particular challenges not only to official memory bound to ideological constructions of nationhood but also to the teaching of history and its links to social justice movements. The volume re-centres Africa and African history in memory studies, with each chapter drawing parallels to comparable cases in Africa and the world. An underlying assumption is that what can be learned from the politics of historical memory in Africa will have relevance for contemporary politics globally and for understanding how memories can be mobilised for political ends.




American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in U.S. History


Book Description

Counterculture, while commonly used to describe youth-oriented movements during the 1960s, refers to any attempt to challenge or change conventional values and practices or the dominant lifestyles of the day. This fascinating three-volume set explores these movements in America from colonial times to the present in colorful detail. "American Countercultures" is the first reference work to examine the impact of countercultural movements on American social history. It highlights the writings, recordings, and visual works produced by these movements to educate, inspire, and incite action in all eras of the nation's history. A-Z entries provide a wealth of information on personalities, places, events, concepts, beliefs, groups, and practices. The set includes numerous illustrations, a topic finder, primary source documents, a bibliography and a filmography, and an index.