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Literature & Literary StudiesDecember 2005Graham Swift
by Daniel Lea, Susan Williams
This book offers an accessible critical introduction to the work of Graham Swift, one of Britain's most significant contemporary authors. Through detailed readings of his novels and short stories from 'The Sweet Shop Owner' (1980) to 'The Light of Day' (2003), Daniel Lea lucidly addresses the key themes of history, loss, masculinity and ethical redemption, to present a fresh approach to Swift. This study proposes that one of the side-effects of modernity has been the destruction of traditional pathways of self and collective belief, leading to a loss of understanding between individuals about their duties to each other and to society. Swift's writing returns repeatedly to the question of what we can believe in when all the established markers of identity - family, community, gender, profession, history - have become destabilised. Lea suggests that Swift increasingly moves towards a notion of redemption through a lived ethical practice as the only means of finding solace in a world lacking a central symbolic authority. ;
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September 2002Nachtblüte
Roman
by James Hamilton-Paterson, Ebba D. Drolshagen
James Hamilton-Paterson wurde 1941 als erstes Kind einer Arztfamilie - der Vater war Neurologe, die Mutter Anästhesistin - geboren. Seine Kindheit verbrachte er in Footscray in Kent. Seinen Schulabschluß machte er an der King´s School in Canterbury, wo er seine Liebe zur Musik entdeckte, komponierte und Stunden am Klavier improvisierte. Dort begann er auch, seine ersten Gedichte zu schreiben. 1961 wurde er zum Studium der Literatur am Exeter College in Oxford aufgenommen. Während dieser Zeit publizierte er zwei Gedichtbände, Option Three und Dutch Alps. Wie vor ihm schon Oscar Wilde wurde er hierfür im Alter von 23 Jahren in seinem letzten Studienjahr in Oxford mit dem Newdigate Prize for poetry ausgezeichnet. Nachdem er die Universität 1964 verlassen hatte, zog es ihn ins Ausland und er nahm seinen ersten Job als Sprachlehrer in Libyen an. Als Resultat einer Reise durch Südamerika, insbesondere Bolivien, Ende der sechziger Jahre schrieb er einen Bericht, der schließlich im New Statesman veröffentlicht wurde. Das Interesse an weiteren Artikeln bedeutete den Beginn seiner Tätigkeit als freier Journalist, die ihn unter anderem nach Vietnam führte, um während des Kriegs von dort zu berichten, sowie in alle wichtigen Länder der Region, die in den Vietnam-Konflikt aktiv verwickelt waren. Zudem schrieb er für das Times Literary Supplement und war Redakteur des Magazins Nova. Während dieser Zeit entstand ein Kinderbuch sowie das politische Sachbuch A very personal war. Zurück in England schrieb er in den siebziger Jahren Drehbücher für Videoreklame in Cambridge und verbrachte sogar einige Zeit als Pfleger am St Stephen`s Hospital, "to kill the medical bug", den Arztinstinkt, der ihm von seinen Eltern vererbt worden war. 1979 entdeckte er die Philippinen, den einzigen Platz in Südostasien, den er noch nicht besucht hatte. Nach anfänglicher Befremdung - "it felt completely Coca-Colaised" - verliebte er sich in Landschaft und Bevölkerung und beschloß, dort zu bleiben. Er lernte die Sprache sowie Sitten und Gebräuche des Landes, wie Fische mit der Lanze zu fangen und Häuser aus Bambus zu bauen. 1981 erwarb er zudem von einem Freund ein kleines Haus in der Toskana, wo er seitdem neun Monate des Jahres verbringt, wenn er nicht auf den Philippinen ist. Die Karriere von James Hamilton-Paterson, Mitglied der Royal Geographical Society, als Romancier und Sachbuchautor begann nach der ersten Publikation von Kurzgeschichten 1986 unter dem Titel The View from Mount Dog mit der Veröffentlichung von Playing with Water 1987, einem autobiographischen Werk über das alltägliche Leben auf den Philippinen. 1989 erscheint dann sein erster Roman Gerontius, der von einigen Kritikern als der beste englische Roman der achtziger Jahre bezeichnet wurde. Er wurde im gleichen Jahr mit dem Whitbread First Novel Award ausgezeichnet. Für das Radio dramatisiert gewann er auf dem International Radio Festival of New York 1990 die Goldmedaille. Es folgen weitere erfolgreiche Sachbücher (Seven-Tenths 1992, Three Miles Down 1998) und Romane, wie 1990 The Bell-Boy (der Titel der amerikanischen Ausgabe wurde auf Wunsch des Verlags geändert in That Time in Malomba, mit der Begründung, daß der Begriff "bellboy" für die Amerikaner seine Bedeutung verloren hätte), 1993 Griefwork und 1994 schließlich 1994 Ghosts of Manila, der 1998 als erster Roman von ihm in deutscher Übersetzung beim Insel Verlag erschien.
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Humanities & Social SciencesNovember 2023Rethinking Norman Italy
Studies in honour of Graham A. Loud
by Joanna Drell, Paul Oldfield
This volume on Norman Italy (southern Italy and Sicily, c. 1000-1200) honours and reflects the pioneering scholarship of Graham A. Loud. An international group of scholars reassesses and recasts the paradigm by which Norman Italy has been conventionally understood, addressing varied subjects across four key themes: historiographies, identities and communities, religion and Church, and conquest. The chapters revise and refine our understanding of Norman Italy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, demonstrating that it was not just a parochial Norman or Mediterranean entity but also an integral player in the medieval mainstream.
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April 2024Schmerz Camp
by Patty Kim Hamilton
Sieben Frauen in einer renommierten, surrealen Schmerzklinik: Im ewigen Kreislauf von Therapien und Gesprächen mit den Ärzt:innen probieren die Patientinnen Medikamente aus, töpfern, meditieren, treiben Sport – der Schmerz aber bleibt. Scheinbar geschieht mit den Frauen in der Klinik nichts und doch ist alles in ständiger, minimaler Bewegung. Zeit vergeht hier anders. Dabei ist der alternde, weiblich gelesene Körper ein zentrales Motiv. Sprache und Dialoge basieren auf realen Gesprächen und Klinikfragebögen – werden bereichert von chorischen Passagen, Lyrik und performativen Naturbildern, die eine neue Dimension aufmachen: Wo finden wir Trost und wie kann ein Weg durch den Schmerz aussehen? Das Theaterstück Schmerz Camp ist ein Plädoyer für das ehrliche Zuhören, für mehr Achtsamkeit und eine solidarische Gemeinschaft. Patty Kim Hamilton sucht darin nach dem Alltäglichen, dem Humor, der Zärtlichkeit, dem Einfachen vor dem dunklen Abgrund und findet dabei eine virtuose Sprache für etwas, das sich mit Worten kaum fassen lässt.
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Humanities & Social SciencesApril 2022Chinese religion in contemporary Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan
The cult of the Two Grand Elders
by Fabian Graham
In Singapore and Malaysia, the inversion of Chinese Underworld traditions has meant that Underworld demons are now amongst the most commonly venerated deities in statue form, channelled through their spirit mediums, tang-ki. The Chinese Underworld and its sub-hells are populated by a bureaucracy drawn from the Buddhist, Taoist and vernacular pantheons. Under the watchful eye of Hell's 'enforcers', the lower echelons of demon soldiers impose post-mortal punishments on the souls of the recently deceased for moral transgressions committed during their prior incarnations. Chinese religion in contemporary Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan offers an ethnography of contemporary Chinese Underworld traditions, where night-time cemetery rituals assist the souls of the dead, exorcised spirits are imprisoned in Guinness bottles, and malicious foetus ghosts are enlisted to strengthen a temple's spirit army. Understanding the religious divergences between Singapore and Malaysia (and their counterparts in Taiwan) through an analysis of socio-political and historical events, Fabian Graham challenges common assumptions about the nature and scope of Chinese vernacular religious beliefs and practices. Graham's innovative approach to alterity allows the reader to listen to first-person dialogues between the author and channelled Underworld deities. Through its alternative methodological and narrative stance, the book intervenes in debates on the interrelation between sociocultural and spiritual worlds, and promotes the destigmatisation of spirit possession and discarnate phenomena in the future study of mystical and religious traditions.
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Biography & True StoriesMarch 2024Barbara Comyns
A savage innocence
by Avril Horner
The extraordinary twentieth-century writer Barbara Comyns led a life as captivating as the narratives she spun. This pioneering biography reveals the journey of a woman who experienced hardship and single-motherhood before the age of thirty but went on to publish a sequence of novels that are unique in the English language. Comyns turned her hand to many jobs in order to survive, from artist's model to restoring pianos. Hundreds of unpublished letters reveal an occasionally desperate but resourceful and witty woman whose complicated life ranged from enduring poverty when young to mixing with spivs, spies and high society. While working as a housekeeper in her mid-thirties, Comyns began transforming the bleak episodes of her life into compelling fictions streaked with surrealism and deadpan humour. The Vet's Daughter (1959), championed by Graham Greene, brought her fame, although her use of the gothic and macabre divided readers and reviewers. This biography not only excavates Comyns's life but also reclaims her fiction, providing a timely reassessment of her literary contribution. It sheds new light on a remarkable author who deftly captured the complexities of human life.
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March 2016Bell Tower and Drum Tower
by Liu Xinwu
A story within one day – from 5 a. m. to 5 p. m. A vivid picture of secular life in Beijing. Winner of Mao Dun Literature Prize. Everything begins in an archaic quadrangle dwelling in Beijing, where Xue Jiyue’s mother gets up early to prepare for the son’s wedding banquet.Other characters show up one after another. After narrating their behaviors during the day, the author goes back and tells about their past, with a special concern about the influences from vicissitudes of time, especially how the Cultural Revolution changed those individuals’ courses of life.The Bell Tower and Drum Tower stand there still, witnessing all of those earthshaking changes.
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January 1993John F. Kennedy - Wilde Jugend
Leben und Tod eines amerikanischen Präsidenten. Band I
by Hamilton, Nigel / Englisch Brumm, Walter
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FictionNovember 2018Beard's Roman Women
By Anthony Burgess
by Graham Foster
Anthony Burgess draws upon an autobiographical episode to create Beard's Roman Women, the story of a man haunted by his first wife, presumed dead. But is she? A marvellously economical book, full-flavoured, funny, and heartfelt, showing its author at the height of his powers. This new edition is the first to be published with David Robinson's photographs for over 40 years. The text of the novel has been restored using the original typescripts, and Graham Foster's new introduction provides valuable insight into the fictional and biographical contexts of the novel. The text is fully annotated with a detailed set of notes and this edition includes the previously unpublished script for Burgess's television film By the Waters of Leman: Byron and Shelley at Geneva, and a rare piece of Burgess's writing about Rome.
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Technology, Engineering & AgricultureSeptember 2018A History of Pesticides
by Graham A Matthews
In this fascinating book, Graham Matthews takes the reader through the history of the development and use of chemicals for control of pests, weeds, and vectors of disease. Prior to 1900 only a few chemicals had been employed as pesticides but in the early 1940s, as the Second World War raged, the insecticide DDT and the herbicide 2-4-D were developed. These changed everything. Since then, farmers have been using a growing list of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides to protect their crops. Their use has undoubtedly led to significant gains in agricultural production and reduction in disease transmission, but also to major problems: health concerns for both users of pesticides and the general public, the emergence of resistance in pest populations, and environmental problems. The book examines the development of legislation designed to control and restrict the use of pesticides, the emergence of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and the use of biological control agents as part of policy to protect the environment and encourage the sustainable use of pesticides. Finally, the use of new technologies in pest control are discussed including the use of genetic modification, targeted pesticide application and use of drones, alongside basic requirements for IPM such as crop rotations, close seasons and adoption of plant varieties with resistance to pests and diseases.
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Business, Economics & LawJanuary 2018Special Interest Tourism
Concepts, Contexts and Cases
by Carol Southall, Lynn Minnaert, Nazia Ali, Ade Oriade, Allan Watson, Glen Croy, Ralf C Buckley, Dallen J Timothy, Steven Rhoden, Alison Caffyn, Richard Benfield, Cheng-Fei Lee, Sheela Agarwal, Graham Busby, Rong Huang
Special interest tourism is growing rapidly due to a discerning and heterogeneous travel market and the demand for more focused activity or interest-based tourism experiences. This book approaches the topic from the perspective of both supply and demand, and addresses the complexities now inherent in this area of tourism. It presents a contextualised overview of contemporary academic research, concepts, principles and industry-based practice insights, and also considers the future of special interest tourism in light of the emergence of ethical consumerism. With a clear, user-friendly structure, the book: -Links theoretical frameworks to clear practical applications. -Reviews key emerging issues for tourism relating to families and faith, the performing arts, active and passive pursuits, therapeutic leisure and travelling. -Includes contributions and case studies from international academics and practitioners to give a truly global overview. Sometimes referred to as niche or contemporary tourism, this book provides a complete introduction to the study of special interest tourism for students.
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Humanities & Social SciencesJanuary 2013Christian Dualist Heresies in the Byzantine World, c. 650-c. 1450
by Janet Hamilton, Bernard Hamilton
Christian dualism originated in the reign of Constans II (641-68). It was a popular religion, which shared with orthodoxy an acceptance of scriptual authority and apostolic tradition and held a sacramental doctrine of salvation, but understood all these in a radically different way to the Orthodox Church. One of the differences was the strong part demonology played in the belief system. This text traces, through original sources, the origins of dualist Christianity throughout the Byzantine Empire, focusing on the Paulician movement in Armenia and Bogomilism in Bulgaria. It presents not only the theological texts, but puts the movements into their social and political context.
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Literature & Literary StudiesApril 2020Interweaving myths in Shakespeare and his contemporaries
by Janice Valls-Russell, Agnès Lafont, Charlotte Coffin
This volume proposes new insights into the uses of classical mythology by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, focusing on interweaving processes in early modern appropriations of myth. Its 11 essays show how early modern writing intertwines diverse myths and plays with variant versions of individual myths that derive from multiple classical sources, as well as medieval, Tudor and early modern retellings and translations. Works discussed include poems and plays by William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and others. Essays concentrate on specific plays including The Merchant of Venice and Dido Queen of Carthage, tracing interactions between myths, chronicles, the Bible and contemporary genres. Mythological figures are considered to demonstrate how the weaving together of sources deconstructs gendered representations. New meanings emerge from these readings, which open up methodological perspectives on multi-textuality, artistic appropriation and cultural hybridity.
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Agricultural scienceApril 2002Nitrogen Fixation
Global Perspectives
by Edited by Turlough M Finan, Mark R O'Brian, David B Layzell, J K Vessey, William Newton
Whilst the actual reduction of nitrogen gas (dinitrogen) to ammonia would appear to be a well defined process, many research questions concerning nitrogen fixation remain and continue to be addressed by diverse groups of scientists. This book presents the proceedings of the 13th International Congress on Nitrogen Fixation, held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in July 2001. With very broad participation and a wide range of topics, it covers the most recent findings. In fifteen sections the main topics discussed include; bacterial genomics, plant genomics, development biology, signals in the soil, nodule metabolism and applied aspects of nitrogen fixation.
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Business, Economics & LawJune 2020Field Guide to the Forest Trees of Uganda
For Identification and Conservation
by James Kalema, Alan Hamilton
This book is a guide for the identification of the indigenous forest trees of Uganda. It will be useful for those who wish to contribute towards the conservation of the forests or to plant indigenous trees. Information is provided on how to propagate and cultivate about 80 of the most valuable species. Indigenous trees provide numerous resources useful for welfare and development. They include many types of timber and non-timber forest products, such as craft materials, foods and medicines. The proximity of indigenous forest helps to moderate the local climate, making it more suitable for agriculture. Indigenous forests protect springs, therefore safeguarding water supplies more effectively than exotic trees such as pines and eucalyptus. All 450 known indigenous tree species from the forests are included. Both scientific and local names are provided, the latter in 21 languages. Local names facilitate access to knowledge and values traditionally attached to the species, useful when planning pathways of development firmly rooted in local culture. The book will be invaluable for botanists, foresters, rural development workers and members of the general public concerned about contributing to conservation and sustainable development in Uganda. Many of the species grow in neighbouring countries, so the book has relevance there too.
