David Brown Book Company

Alienation and theatricality; Diderot after Brecht.

Revising her PhD dissertation for the Slade School of Fine Art in London, von Held looks to French playwright Denis Diderot (1713-84) and German playwright Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) to see how alienation plays out in various forms and at various levels in theater. She begins with Brecht, and discussions of the Marxist-Hegelian background, enlightened anti-illusion and its implicit superstition, dialectical optics of alienation, and other topics. Among the aspects of Diderot that she considers are alienating Brecht through Diderot, time and vision, alienation as implicit order, and alienation between objective representation and subjective experience. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Ani-La; the nuns from Redna Menling.

Van de Belt works as a psychotherapist while she conducts fieldwork and prepares a doctoral dissertation on women of the Bon religion. Most of what little scholarship there is about Bon, she says, dismisses it as part of Tibetan Buddhism, but in fact it has an independent history in Tibet. She focuses on the religion in exile, specifically the women in Redna Menling, the nunnery of the Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India. After setting the groundwork of her study and its subjects, she discusses the Bon as a community in exile, what makes a young woman become a nun, and the community of nuns and its interaction with its surroundings. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Arabic and Persian seals and amulets in the British Museum.

Curator of Islamic collections in the British Museum, Porter presents a catalog of clay, bronze, lead, and stone seals from the 8th century until after the 14th. Each entry includes a color photograph, description and special features, name or other engraving, size, date acquired, number, and collection it is in. They are divided into sections according to those with names, names and phrases, phrases, re-engraved seals and seals with Arabic inscriptions on both sides, seals from the 14th century after, dated, Indo-Muslim andmiscellaneous, and amulets. Seals and amulets are introduced separately. Essays discuss identifying the materials of the seals and amulets, and methods of engraving. There is no index. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The architecture of Sir Ernest George.

This oversize volume (10x12 inches), many decades in the making, houses the result of the author's passionate involvement as the leading authority on the late Victorian architect Sir Ernest George (1839-1922). Grainger (University of the Arts London, UK) is an architectural historian who found her niche and here has brought together an authoritative work elucidating George's life and work. An abundance of photos (by Martin Charles) support the text. A catalogue of works and projects is included as well as appendices describing the office and offering brief biographies of all known pupils and assistants, and a listing of George's watercolor exhibitions. Distribution in North America is by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The Assyrian dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago; v.20; U and W.

Almost an encyclopedia as well as an Akkadian-English dictionary, the work presents each word in a meaningful context, usually with a full and idiomatic translation to recreate the cultural milieu. Tapping sources from the third millennium BC to the first century AD, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Zagros Mountains in the east, it has become an invaluable reference for scholars of civilizations in the ancient Near East, their political and cultural history, their science, and their poetry. This is the final volume. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Ayia Irini; the western sector.

This is the tenth volume in a series devoted to Keos comprising the results of excavations conducted by the University of Cincinnati under the auspices of The American School of Classical Studies at Athens. The Western Sector is distinguished by its terrain, which slopes in two directions and favored split-level construction. Understanding of these buildings is made complicated by modern damage to the Bronze Age structures as well as major devastations during the Late Bronze Age itself. The volume provides thorough documentation of findings, including a large section of b&w plates, printed on coated stock. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Baked clay figurines and votive beds from Medinet Habu.

Egyptologist Teeter (Oriental Institute, U. of Chicago) initiated publication of small finds from the excavation of Medinet Habu in western Thebes (modern Luxor, Egypt) undertaken by the Oriental Institute from 1926 to 1933. This catalog presents full description and photos of baked clay figurines, votive beds and stelae, and molds for votive beds — 272 objects in all — from the dynastic period. The volume measures 9x12 inches. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Bogazkoy tablets in the Archaeological Museum of Ankara II.

Of the Hittite cuneiform documents the museum acquired from excavations at Bogazkoy, 65 of the best preserved tablets were published by Kemel Balkan in 1948. Akdogan here publishes another 389 fragments as volume two. They are arranged by type of text, such as administrative and technical, hymns and prayers, cult administration and inventory, divination, and Sumerian and Akkadian. Proper names are indexed. Then line drawings of the tablets with text are presented. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

A captive of the dawn; the life and work of Peretz Markish (1895-1952).

Contributors identified only by name look at the work of Soviet Yiddish poet and playwright Markish, who, along with other members of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, was executed for conspiracy against the Soviet regime. Among the topics are his urban poetics as the lighter side of Babel, the language of dispersion and confusion in his manifestos from the Khalyastre period, the Yiddish modernism of his 1922 Radyo as agitprop, his wartime plays, and Markish and the legacy of Soviet Yiddish poetry. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The Cluniac priory and abbey of St Saviour, Bermondsey, Surrey; excavations 1984-95.

The site discussed in this volume, now incorporated into the London Borough of Southwark, yielded information about the pre-priory land use from prehistoric to late Saxon periods, the priory and later abbey of Bermondsey, aspects of the medieval priory and abbey, and the development of Bermondsay House after the Dissolution 1535-1650. Among the specialist appendices are architectural fragments, the pottery, the window glass, animal bone, and human remains. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Contexts of property in Europe; the social embeddedness of property rights in land and historical perspective.

Property, in historical discourse, is commonly but mistakenly fitted into a singular paradigm of property as defined in 19th-century European law and economic thought (primarily by the French Physiocrats and the Scottish liberals), undermining our ability to understand the social workings of property and how they have changed over the course of time, according to Congost (U. de Girona, Spain) and Santos (U. Nova de Lisboa, Portugal). With this collection, they seek to push the understanding of property in land more towards the purview of social history, sociology, and anthropology. Examples of topics explored include the manipulation of formal seigniorial powers over land by Czech peasants of the Middle Ages, variations in the political implementation of the liberal land property paradigm across Europe, peasant strategies towards the disposition of land before and after the Napoleonic Civil Code in French Normandy, Nazi Germany's "Heredity Law" governing "ethnic" German land, and the transformation of collective farms in East Germany since 1989. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Current research in Egyptology 2010; proceedings.

The 19 selected papers consider the role of the Sacred Eye in ensuring the continuing identity of the deceased, reconstructing and re-editing the archive of seventh-century Bishop Pesynthios of Koptos/Keft, revisiting the chronology of the Middle Kingdom with lunar and Sothic data from the archive of el-Lahun, the conceptualization of anger, the vivification formulas as a case study of the increasing emphasis on collateral and female kin in the late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period, the function of metaphor in The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, planned decoration in the temple of Kalabash, and other topics. They are not indexed. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Current research in Egyptology 2009; proceedings.

Of the 45 papers presented at the symposium, 15 are gathered in this collection. Their topics include Crossing of the Lake ritual, whether dwarves at Amarna were socially accepted or just amusement for the royal family, the Memphite building program of Amenhotep III, the veterinary papyrus of Kahun, embodiment theory and the body in ancient Egypt, ancient Egyptian houses from the New Kingdom to the Ptolemaic period 1539 BC-32 BC, and comparing the art and the architecture in the images of fortifications in the Sety I battle reliefs. Titles and authors of the other papers are listed. There is no index. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The dark side of childhood in late antiquity and the Middle Ages; unwanted, disabled and lost.

Mustakallio and Laes present a collection of essays examining the dangers of childhood in late antiquity and the middle ages. Contributors compare the modern values held by the Western world in regard to child rearing to the societal values of the pre-modern world. Occurrences such as child labor, pederasty, and neglect are viewed currently by society as horrific atrocities while during the Middle Ages these practices were commonplace. The book is divided into three distinct sections: "Unwanted" examines the frequent inability of parents to support their children, "Disabled" deals with illnesses children endured along with society's ignorance of such afflictions, and "Nearly Lost" addresses the abuses and destructive world forces against children of the time. This book appeals to those studying history, anthropology, and sociology. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Dawn of Japan; Emperor Jimmu with his gods and warriors on third-century bronze mirrors.

A Japanese scholar of antiquity and a European scholar of archaic warfare team up to show how seven narrative bronze mirrors from the third century reveal much about early Japanese history, art, and religion. They focus particularly on the Shuryo-mon-kyo (Hunting Pattern Mirror), which they call Jimmu's Mirror, the richest and most striking. They argue that the scene depicts a war dance not a hunt, and probably represents warriors of the Yamato rulers, who were just at that time establishing their long-lasting sway. They discuss the mirror, the mirror's tale confirmed by Kofun art, sea-dance mirrors, gods and myths, warriors, and Jimmu as the founder of Japan. Color photographs of the mirrors and details are provided. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The development of early medieval and later Poultry and Cheapside; excavations at 1 Poultry and vicinity, City of London.

This second of three volumes reporting findings from excavations in the Poultry area of London's financial district describes Late Saxon, medieval, and post-medieval activity in the area. It begins with post-Roman abandonment between the fifth and seventh centuries and Alfredian reoccupation during the 10th century, the expansion of the Late Saxon settlement in the late 10th century, the development of the development of the city 1050 to 1200 and the City from around 1200, aspects of urban development, production and consumption, and the parish church of St. Benet Sherehog. Appendices contain specialist information in 13 areas. French and German summaries are provided. Distributed in the US by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Dubai high; a culture trip.

Having served as the executive director of the Stiftung Oper in Berlin, Schindhelm was hired in 2007 by the government of Dubai to advise on setting up an opera house and other cultural facilities, remaining in the gulf country until the summer of 2009. In this work he reproduces his journal entries documenting his experiences. Accompanying the journal entries are numerous black and white photographs of contemporary Dubai taken by French-Canadian photographer Aurore Belkin. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Company. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Early mining and metallurgy on the western central Iranian plateau; the first five years of work.

The excavation began less than ten years ago, according to an introductory statement by the series editor, and it's impressive that this comprehensive volume has been compiled in so short a time. The project is described in depth in the introduction, with explanation that "the mineralic resources of the highlands of Iran have enjoyed renown since antiquity" and that this interdisciplinary project aimed to cover all aspects of early metallurgical development "...from the rock to the artifacts...," as well as the commodities and communities that developed around mining. Results are presented in 26 chapters. Presentation is in an oversize volume (8.5x12 inches), printed on coated stock, with illustrations in color and b&w. Distribution in the North America is by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

England and the continent in the tenth century; studies in honour of Wilhelm Levison (1876-1947).

The papers of this proceedings stem from the 5th Meeting in commemoration of the death of the historian Wilhelm Levison, held in December 2007 at Durham U., the UK, where Levison taught after escaping from Nazi Germany in 1939. Conrad Leyser provides a compelling account of Levison's career and his contribution to the study of early medieval history, with its focus on European history as one of connections across borders, rather than in nationalistic isolation, presented in his landmark work, England and the Continent in the Eighth Century. The 24 essays that follow, many by senior scholars, affirm Levison's approach, applying it to the tenth century. Topics include commercial routes between England and the Continent, correspondence between the archbishops of Canterbury and Flemish monasteries, a comparison of Anglo-Saxon and Ottonian kingship, and another comparison of their coronations. A lengthy essay by Richard Gameson (Durham U.) traces the career of a leading manuscript illuminator over the Channel. Other essays focus on law, on church organization, and on historiography. The volume, which is illustrated in b&w, is distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The English village explained.

Using his own drawings, diagrams, and photos, Yorke, a writer and designer, traces the development of the English village from pre-Roman settlements to present-day communities and the events that affected them, key changes in agriculture and industry, and how they may have appeared, with illustrations of imaginary villages at the ends of chapters. He also describes their landscape, transportation, buildings, and dwellings, and recommends museums and villages to visit and provides a guide to tracing the history of a village. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)