History of television > Women of Pleasure Quarters: The Secret History of the Geisha by Lesley Downer, ISBN 0767904907

Women of Pleasure Quarters: The Secret History of the Geisha by Lesley Downer, ISBN 0767904907

$9.76

Ever since Westerners arrived in Japan, they have been intrigued by Japanese womanhood and, above all, by geisha. This fascination has spawned a wealth of extraordinary fictional creations, from Puccini's "Madame Butterfly to Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha. But as denizens of a world defined by silence and mystery, real geisha are notoriously difficult to meet and even to find. As a result, their history has long been cloaked in secrecy.
Lesley Downer, an award-winning writer, Japanese scholar, and consummate storyteller, gained more access to this world than almost any other Westerner, and spent several months living in it. In "Women of the Pleasure Quarters, she weaves together intimate portraits of modern geisha with the romantic legends and colorful historical tales that shape their fascinating past. Contrary to popular opinion, geisha are not prostitutes but, literally, "arts people." Accomplished singers, dancers, and musicians, they are, above all, masters of the art of conversation, soothing the worries and stroking the egos of wealthy businessmen who can afford their attentions. Looking into such traditions as "mizuage, the ritual deflowering that was once a rite of passage for all geisha, and providing colorful descriptions of their dress, training, and homes, Downer transforms their reality into a captivating narrative, and reveals an enthralling world unlike any other.

A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani, ISBN 0674010175

In a panoramic view encompassing 12 centuries of Arab history and culture, Hourani brilliantly illuminates the people and events that have fundamentally shaped the Arab world. Noted Islamic scholar Ruthven brings the story up to date from the mid-1980s. A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani, ISBN 0674010175
History of television > A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani, ISBN 0674010175

Gods, Genes, and Consciousness: Nonhuman Intervention in Human History

A provocative look at how Advanced Beings (angels and extraterrestrials) have been influencing human history since the dawn of time through contributions to the roots of language, technology, math, science, and more. Gods, Genes, and Consciousness: Nonhuman Intervention in Human History
History of television > Gods, Genes, and Consciousness: Nonhuman Intervention in Human History

The Theatre and You: A Beginning by Marsh Cassady, ISBN 0916260836

The fascinating world of the theatre is explored in this comprehensive new text by a director/playwright/author of distinction. Fifteen chapters present a complete overview of acting, directing, playwriting, scenery, lighting, costumes and the history of theatre. Abundant photos and Illustrations are used to explain each of the key concepts. Included are several plays and scenes to allow students to "flesh out" characters and gain perspective of various types of dramatic works. Playwrights include Shakespeare, Ibsen, Wilde and several well-known contemporary writers. Five parts: Getting Acquainted with Theatre, Directing, Design, Acting, A History of the Theatre. The Theatre and You: A Beginning by Marsh Cassady, ISBN 0916260836
History of television > The Theatre and You: A Beginning by Marsh Cassady, ISBN 0916260836

Let Them Journey: True Stories Uniting the Past With the Future

This book illustrates the story of Jewish migration in the last hundred years, from an unusual perspective. There is no faceless narrator sweeping the characters along the tides of history; the stories are told by the people themselves, unaltered and with all the poignancy of memory intact. These people, their lives overshadowed and sometimes obliterated by catastrophic events, relate in their own words what it was like to be a Jew in such a world and under such conditions. The recollections related in this book provide an interesting, enlightening and informative panorama of the varied Jewish experiences in the twentieth century. Let Them Journey: True Stories Uniting the Past With the Future
History of television > Let Them Journey: True Stories Uniting the Past With the Future

Secrets of the Stone Age: A Prehistoric Journey by Richard Rudgley, ISBN 0712669655

The popular view that Stone Age Man was primitive and ignorant is shattered as the author reveals the remarkable accomplishments made before the dawn of history. The journey begins in ancient Egypt, where excavations at Abydos have unearthed hieroglyphs belonging to an age before the pharaohs; to stone circles and burial chambers in Ireland which carbon dating proves pre-date Stonehenge by two millennia; to the world's first town, 9,000-year-old Catal Huyuk in Turkey; to startling new research on the Ice Man, the 5,000-year-old mummy found in an Alpine glacier; to 11,000-year-old writing unearthed on the banks of the Euphrates; to the awe-inspiring cave paintings of Ice Age France; and finally to Indonesia where the discovery of stone tools proves that pre-Neanderthal man undertook sea voyages 700,000 years before the Kon Tiki. Secrets of the Stone Age: A Prehistoric Journey by Richard Rudgley, ISBN 0712669655
History of television > Secrets of the Stone Age: A Prehistoric Journey by Richard Rudgley, ISBN 0712669655

Chesapeake Steamboats: Vanished Fleet by David C. Holly, ISBN 0870334557

In eight engaging chapters, this book portrays the steamboat era (1813-1963) on the Chesapeake, which matched in glamour and excitement the steamboats' history on the Mississippi. The book begins with the building of the first steamboat on the Bay in the shadow of the bitter struggle between Stevens, Livingston, Fulton, and Latrobe, among others, over monopoly on the Delaware and Chesapeake. Some of the accepted history on the origin of the first Bay steamboat is called into question. The chapters continue with stories of the genius of early engine builders, the legends arising from dramatic steamboat disasters, spirited adventures of the Civil War (including the mystery of the "French lady spy"), the romance of steamboat excursions and resorts, the personalities of many steamboats and their masters, the Pennsylvania Railroad's near achievement of monopoly on the Bay, and the denouement when trucks and automobiles eclipsed the role of the steamboat. An appendix details the workings of early... Chesapeake Steamboats: Vanished Fleet by David C. Holly, ISBN 0870334557
History of television > Chesapeake Steamboats: Vanished Fleet by David C. Holly, ISBN 0870334557

The Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century by Mark Mazower, ISBN 067975704X

"A useful, important book that reminds us, at the right time, how hard [European unity] has been, and how much care must be taken to avoid the terrible old temptations." --"Los Angeles Times
Dark Continent provides an alternative history of the twentieth century, one in which the triumph of democracy was anything but a forgone conclusion and fascism and communism provided rival political solutions that battled and sometimes triumphed in an effort to determine the course the continent would take.
Mark Mazower strips away myths that have comforted us since World War II, revealing Europe as an entity constantly engaged in a bloody project of self-invention. Here is a history not of inevitable victories and forward marches, but of narrow squeaks and unexpected twists, where townships boast a bronze of Mussolini on horseback one moment, only to melt it down and recast it as a pair of noble partisans the next. Unflinching, intelligent, Dark Continent provides a provocative vision of Europ's... The Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century by Mark Mazower, ISBN 067975704X
History of television > The Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century by Mark Mazower, ISBN 067975704X