Greco-Roman Medicine and What It Can Teach Us Today


Book Description

There can be little doubt that the Romans experienced many of the illnesses that are still encountered today, and individuals have always had to decide how best to deal with their health-related concerns. The Roman Empire was an amalgam of many cultures, often with dissimilar ideas and beliefs. The Greek impact on health was particularly dominant and, therefore, this book focuses on Greco-Roman medicine as it was practised during the Pax Romana, the period between the accession of Augustus and the death of Marcus Aurelius. Drawing on ancient literature supplemented with evidence from archaeology, paleopathology, epigraphy and numismatics the Greco-Roman medical context is carefully examined. A particular focus is on the effectiveness of approaches to both preventing and treating a range of physical and psychological problems. Detailed consideration is also given to the ancient technical and hygienic achievements in addition to the place of healers within Roman society. Uniquely, within each chapter, the author draws on his own clinical and public health experience, combined with modern research findings, in assessing the continuing relevance of Greco-Roman medicine. For example, Galen`s focus on access to fresh air, movement, sensible eating and getting sufficient sleep matter as much today as they did in the past. Our classical forebears can also assist us in determining the best balances between prevention and treatment, centralised control and individual responsibility, as well as the most appropriate uses of technology, drugs and surgery. Some ancient pharmaceutical compounds are already showing promise in treating infections. In addition, practising Stoicism and getting some locotherapy should be considered by anyone struggling to cope with the stresses and strains of modern life.




Roman Catholicism in America


Book Description

Who are American Catholics and what do they believe and practice? How has American Catholicism influenced and been influenced by American culture and society? This book examines the history of American Catholics from the colonial era to the present, with an emphasis on changes and challenges in the contemporary church. Chester Gillis chronicles America Catholics: where they have come from, how they have integrated into American society, and how the church has influenced their lives. He highlights key events and people, examines data on Catholics and their relationship to the church, and considers the church’s positions and actions on politics, education, and gender and sexuality in the context of its history and doctrines. This second edition of Roman Catholicism in America pays particular attention to the tumultuous past twenty years and points toward the future of the religion in the United States. It examines the unprecedented crisis of sexual abuse by priests—the legal, moral, financial, and institutional repercussions of which continue to this day—and the bishops’ role in it. Gillis also discusses the election of Pope Francis and the controversial role Catholic leadership has played in American politics.




Nothing Fancy


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The social media star, New York Times columnist, and author of Dining In helps you nail dinner with unfussy food and the permission to be imperfect. “Enemy of the mild, champion of the bold, Ms. Roman offers recipes in Nothing Fancy that are crunchy, cheesy, tangy, citrusy, fishy, smoky and spicy.”—Julia Moskin, The New York Times IACP AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • The New Yorker • NPR • The Washington Post • San Francisco Chronicle • BuzzFeed • The Guardian • Food Network An unexpected weeknight meal with a neighbor or a weekend dinner party with fifteen of your closest friends—either way and everywhere in between, having people over is supposed to be fun, not stressful. This abundant collection of all-new recipes—heavy on the easy-to-execute vegetables and versatile grains, paying lots of close attention to crunchy, salty snacks, and with love for all the meats—is for gatherings big and small, any day of the week. Alison Roman will give you the food your people want (think DIY martini bar, platters of tomatoes, pots of coconut-braised chicken and chickpeas, pans of lemony turmeric tea cake) plus the tips, sass, and confidence to pull it all off. With Nothing Fancy, any night of the week is worth celebrating. Praise for Nothing Fancy “[Nothing Fancy] is full of the sort of recipes that sound so good, one contemplates switching off any and all phones, calling in sick, and cooking through the bulk of them.”—Food52 “[Nothing Fancy] exemplifies that classic Roman approach to cooking: well-known ingredients rearranged in interesting and compelling ways for young home cooks who want food that looks (and photographs) as good as it tastes.”—Grub Street




The 99% Invisible City


Book Description

A beautifully designed guidebook to the unnoticed yet essential elements of our cities, from the creators of the wildly popular 99% Invisible podcast




Roman Sources for the History of American Catholicism, 1763-1939


Book Description

Roman Sources for the History of American Catholicism, 1763-1939 contains descriptions of Roman archival materials relevant to the American Catholic Church from fifty-nine different archives and libraries.




Rome and America: The Great Republics


Book Description

In innumerable ways, the United States of America is the political and social descendant of the Roman Republic, and the influences of Rome reverberate throughout our world. Yet while America reflects the heights of Roman structures, ideas, and principles, we also now face a host of problems similar to those that the Romans faced—immigration and citizenship, the consequences of slavery, the growing divide between classes, the conflict between conservatives and progressives, and the challenges of being a superpower. In Rome and America: The Great Republics, author Walter Signorelli chronicles and compares these two greatest and enduring republics of history, explaining how they formed, grew, and prospered. He evaluates their strengths and weaknesses, the environments from which they emerged, and the values and practices they had in common. Signorelli also explores parallels between American and Roman military history, similarities between their constitutional governments, and the legacy of Roman law in America. Last, he questions whether our democratic-republican government will disintegrate as the Roman Republic disintegrated, whether it will grow stronger despite its similarities to the Roman experience, or whether it will transform itself into another form of government akin to Rome’s imperial dictatorship. More than an historical narrative or a collection of biographies, Rome and America: The Great Republics examines the political, social, economic, and moral factors that affected both nations, considering the successes and mistakes of the Romans and their implications for American society today.




Understanding Roman Inscriptions


Book Description

Lawrence Keppie's book offers the non-specialist a comprehensive and enjoyable guide to undestanding the texts of Roman inscriptions, as well as explaining the numerous different contexts in which they were produced. Every area of Roman life is covered, including: * the emperor * temples and altars to the gods * imperial administration * gravestones and tomb monuments * local government and society * the army and the frontiers * Christianity * trade, commerce and the economy * the later Roman Empire. For each inscription cited, the book provides the original Latin, an English translation and a commentary on the piece's significance. Illustrated with more than 80 photos and drawings, this is the ideal introduction to the most important source for the history and organisation of the Roman Empire.




Listed


Book Description

Main description: The first listed species to make headlines after the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973 was the snail darter, a three-inch fish that stood in the way of a massive dam on the Little Tennessee River. When the Supreme Court sided with the darter, Congress changed the rules. The dam was built, the river stopped flowing, and the snail darter went extinct on the Little Tennessee, though it survived in other waterways. A young Al Gore voted for the dam; freshman congressman Newt Gingrich voted for the fish. A lot has changed since the 1970s, and Joe Roman helps us understand why we should all be happy that this sweeping law is alive and well today. More than a general history of endangered species protection, Listed is a tale of threatened species in the wild-from the whooping crane and North Atlantic right whale to the purple bankclimber, a freshwater mussel tangled up in a water war with Atlanta-and the people working to save them. Employing methods from the new field of ecological economics, Roman challenges the widely held belief that protecting biodiversity is too costly. And with engaging directness, he explains how preserving biodiversity can help economies and communities thrive. Above all, he shows why the extinction of species matters to us personally-to our health and safety, our prosperity, and our joy in nature.




Are We Rome?


Book Description

What went wrong in imperial Rome, and how we can avoid it: “If you want to understand where America stands in the world today, read this.” —Thomas E. Ricks The rise and fall of ancient Rome has been on American minds since the beginning of our republic. Depending on who’s doing the talking, the history of Rome serves as either a triumphal call to action—or a dire warning of imminent collapse. In this “provocative and lively” book, Cullen Murphy points out that today we focus less on the Roman Republic than on the empire that took its place, and reveals a wide array of similarities between the two societies (The New York Times). Looking at the blinkered, insular culture of our capitals; the debilitating effect of bribery in public life; the paradoxical issue of borders; and the weakening of the body politic through various forms of privatization, Murphy persuasively argues that we most resemble Rome in the burgeoning corruption of our government and in our arrogant ignorance of the world outside—two things that must be changed if we are to avoid Rome’s fate. “Are We Rome? is just about a perfect book. . . . I wish every politician would spend an evening with this book.” —James Fallows




The Roman Book


Book Description

What was a Roman book? How did it differ from modern books? How were Roman books composed, published and distributed during the high period of Roman literature that encompassed, among others, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Martial, Pliny and Tacitus? What was the ‘scribal art’ of the time? What was the role of bookshops and libraries? The publishing of Roman books has often been misrepresented by false analogies with contemporary publishing. This wide-ranging study re-examines, by appeal to what Roman authors themselves tell us, both the raw material and the aesthetic criteria of the Roman book, and shows how slavery was the ‘enabling infrastructure’ of literature. Roman publishing is placed firmly in the context of a society where the spoken still ranked above the written, helping to explain how some books and authors became politically dangerous and how the Roman book could be both an elite cultural icon and a contributor to Rome’s popular culture through the mass medium of the theatre.