Xi fang yi shu

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Ibrahim Abdullah

"This is the most authoritative study of the Sierra Leone civil war to emanate from Africa, or indeed any publications' programme on Africa. It explores the genesis of the crisis, the contradictory roles of different internal and external actors, civil society and the media; the regional intervention force and the demise of the second republic. It analyses the numerous peace initiatives designed to end a war, which continued nonetheless to defy and outlast them; and asks why the war became so prolonged. The study articulates how internal actors trod the multiple and conflicting pathways to power. It considers how non-conventional actors were able to inaugurate and sustain an insurgency that called forth the largest concentration of UN peacekeepers the world has ever seen."--Publisher's description.

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James A. Corrick

Traces developments in European art, architecture, music, literature, philosophy, science, and exploration between 1300 and 1600.

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Wayne G. Hammond, Christina Scull

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), renowned author of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, was an artist in pictures as well as in words. Though he often remarked that he had no talent for drawing, his art has charmed his readers and has been exhibited to large and appreciative audiences. In fact, his talent was far more than he admitted, and his sense of design was natural and keen. This book explores Tolkien's art at length, from his childhood paintings and drawings to his final sketches. At its heart are his illustrations for his books, especially his tales of Middle-earth. Also examined are the pictures Tolkien made for his children (notably in his 'Father Christmas' letters and for the story of Mr. Bliss), his expressive calligraphy, his love of decoration, and his contributions to the typography and design of his books. J.R.R. Tolkien, Artist and Illustrator includes 200 reproductions, many in colour and over half published for the first time.

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Peter Whitfield

"Our understanding of nature - as a succession of forms assumed by eternal elements - emerged during the hundred years between 1840 and 1940, when theories of thermodynamics, atomic structure, and the equivalence of matter and energy all took shape. In Peter Whitfield's view, it represents probably the greatest single achievement of human thought.". "In the course of his stimulating and wide-ranging survey, Whitfield describes the long and complex process of discovery that lies behind that achievement, from the earliest times up to the mid-20th century. He shows how people with enquiring minds and a range of beliefs have tried to 'build bridges between nature and eternity', and he argues that the history of science, like that of art, is not a simple progression from lower to higher, but a sequence of responses to the world, conditioned by historical circumstances."--BOOK JACKET.