Lord of the ring

Emma Saylor regarde son père danser sur la piste, un peu désabusée : elle assiste à son mariage avec une femme adorable, qui leur permet d'échapper enfin aux difficultés qui les poursuivent depuis la mort de sa mère, cinq ans plus tôt, d'une overdose. La jeune fille ne sait pas grand-chose de ce qui est vraiment arrivé. Et, pour pouvoir aller de l'avant, elle aussi, elle aimerait bien connaître... la fin de l'histoire. Or elle n'a plus revu sa grand-mère maternelle ou ses cousins depuis un séjour chez eux quand elle était toute petite. Mais le destin va lui donner un coup de pouce : pendant la lune de miel de son père, elle doit justement passer un mois au bord du lac où vit cette énigmatique famille. Car si, pour son père, elle est Emma, aux yeux de sa mère, de ses cousins et des amis d'autrefois, en revanche, elle était quelqu'un d'autre - elle était la petite Saylor, même si ce ne fut que le temps d'un été. Et c'est ce passé enfoui qu'elle va redécouvrir comme un trésor. Un parquet qui grince sous ses pas, une odeur familière... Elle qui ne se rappelle pas même le visage de sa grand-mère se rend compte qu'elle connaît cet endroit. Elle retrouve sa cousine, qui joue avec le feu comme la mère d'Emma avant elle, et Roo, le garçon dont elle était inséparable enfant. Tel un détective, elle va remonter le temps en arrière, pour découvrir non seulement qui elle est, mais aussi quelle adolescente a été sa mère. Car avant de tomber amoureuse d'un fils de famille privilégié, celle-ci a perdu son meilleur ami dans un étrange accident de bateau à moteur... Un roman de Sarah Dessen n'est jamais, jamais une déception. La reine de la fiction young adult observe les mouvements du coeur d'un adolescente dans la tourmente avec une justesse stupéfiante - ce qui fait dire à tout le milieu littéraire aux Etats-Unis qu'elle est, ni plus ni moins, une rock star. Emotion à fleur de peau et regard acéré sur les choses : venez savourer en sa compagnie une gourmandise à nulle autre pareille...

Plongez en VO dans ce livre incroyable. Pour vous aider, des traductions en marge vous permettront de bien comprendre le texte original. Ces textes en VO font partie des lectures imposées pour les classes de Première dans le cadre du nouveau bac de 2022.

From the rain forests of Borneo to the tenements of Manhattan, winged insects are a conspicuous and abundant feature of life on earth. Here, Robert Dudley presents the first comprehensive explanation of how insects fly. The author relates the biomechanics of flight to insect ecology and evolution in a major new work of synthesis. The book begins with an overview of insect flight biomechanics. Dudley explains insect morphology, wing motions, aerodynamics, flight energetics, and flight metabolism within a modern phylogenetic setting. Drawing on biomechanical principles, he describes and evaluates flight behavior and the limits to flight performance. The author then takes the next step by developing evolutionary explanations of insect flight. He analyzes the origins of flight in insects, the roles of natural and sexual selection in determining how insects fly, and the relationship between flight and insect size, pollination, predation, dispersal, and migration. Dudley ranges widely - from basic aerodynamics to muscle physiology and swarming behavior - but his focus is the explanation of functional design from evolutionary and ecological perspectives. The importance of flight in the lives of insects has long been recognized but never systematically evaluated. This book addresses that shortcoming. Robert Dudley provides an introduction to insect flight that will be welcomed by students and researchers in biomechanics, entomology, evolution, ecology, and behavior.

A picture named "Doctor Gachet's portrait" has been stolen a night from a museum. Immediately, the news offer the event and our heroes start the research after some clue that leads them to the thief. After travelling across some countries following his trace, they realize that a smuggling network is behind the robbery, led by minister Goring. Among their loot is an enormous amount of pictures stolen from private collectors, with the aim of transporting and hiding them beyond their frontiers.

Muriel Peytavin, La courtisane en peinture : portraits idéalisés, portraits du réel Résumé - Cet article se propose d'examiner quelques portraits de courtisanes des dynasties Ming ? (1368-1644) et Qing ? (1644-1911), dans une tradition de la peinture chinoise où le portrait n'est pas réalisé d'après nature ou d'après un modèle mais envisagé selon les textes littéraires qui prescrivent les principales directives en matière de représentation humaine, et notamment, féminine. Communément, la femme est avant tout traitée comme un type général et non comme une personne singulière ; l'image représentée est par conséquent une construction idéologique avant d'être une construction psychologique. Il s'agit d'apprécier la manière dont les artistes se sont servis de l'individualité de certaines courtisanes et de leur histoire, envisagée comme un thème à part entière, au moyen d'un traitement pictural éloigné de la peinture de beautés (meiren hua ???), pour exprimer de nouveaux idéaux, des singularités inédites, qui ont pourtant échoué à construire une mémoire pérenne de l'identité féminine chinoise. Chan Tsai-yun, Mémoire d'un empire. La longue marche des collections du Musée du Palais dans un contexte de guerre Résumé - Le Musée du Palais, depuis sa création jusqu'à nos jours, est en étroite corrélation avec l'évolution politique du monde chinois. Il reflète l'époque impériale chinoise, la transformation du système politique de la jeune République de Chine et la division du monde chinois. Il témoigne également d'un passé extrêmement tumultueux marqué par la guerre sino-japonaise et la guerre civile. Ce legs impérial, partagé entre la Chine et Taïwan, permet de faire émerger toutes sortes de mémoires parmi les populations chez qui la sinité est profondément enracinée. Sandrine Marchand, Nostalgie du poème : réticence à l'image dans la poésie mémorielle Résumé - Les multiples mémoires à Taïwan, mémoires des insulaires, des aborigènes et des continentaux, se sont exprimées dans la poésie, qui échappe au devoir descriptif du langage narratif. La poésie apparaît alors comme le genre le plus adéquat pour souligner la part fluctuante de la mémoire, sa saisie incertaine comme son évolution imprévisible. En se demandant ce que le langage poétique révèle de la question de la mémoire, nous interrogeons des poèmes des années 1960-1980, d'auteurs ayant à coeur de soulever un passé douloureux, en Chine ou à Taïwan. Nous nous interrogeons sur les images, leur registre, leur rôle et leur valeur dans la tentative de garder le passé et de faire revivre le souvenir tout en se défiant de l'imaginaire. Anne Kerlan, Filmer pour la Nation : le cinéma d'actualité et la constitution d'une mémoire visuelle en Chine, 1911-1941 Résumé - Cet article revient sur les premiers développements du cinéma d'actualité jusqu'en 1941 à travers le travail du réalisateur d'origine hongkongaise Li Minwei. Celui-ci filma à diverses reprises les événements politiques autour de la figure de Sun Yat-sen puis de Chiang Kai-shek. Il participa en 1930 à la constitution d'une compagnie cinématographique, la Lianhua, qui accorda une importance toute particulière à la réalisation de films d'actualités. Nous nous interrogeons sur les objectifs visés par les producteurs, qu'ils travaillent en association avec le Guomindang ou pour d'autres types de projet. Ces films d'actualité, dans la diversité de leur contenu, constituent certes des archives pour l'histoire de la Chine, mais révèlent aussi des conceptions différentes de la mémoire nationale alors en construction. Samia Ferhat, Mémoire collective et images du passé en Chine et à Taïwan : débats autour de la représentation cinématographique de l'ennemi ou du colonisateur japonais Résumé - Depuis la capitulation du Japon en août 1945 s'est cristallisée dans la mémoire collective une vision particulière de ce pays et de son rôle dans la guerre qui en Asie orientale l'a opposé à la Chine et ses alliés, alors que depuis la fin du xixe siècle son destin était lié à celui de Taïwan. A travers l'analyse de films chinois et taïwanais, mis en perspective par un détour vers le cinéma américain, nous discutons de la façon dont la cinématographie explore ces moments du passé et en propose une nouvelle lecture par le regard attentif posé sur ses protagonistes, le plus souvent restitués dans leur singularité au-delà de toute fixation stéréotypée. Corrado Neri, L'Histoire n'est qu'un souvenir : mémoire et processus créatif chez Hou Hsiao-hsien et Wu Nien-jen Résumé - Hou Hsiao-hsien et Wu Nien-jen comptent parmi les intellectuels contemporains les plus influents à Taïwan ; ils s'aventurent tous les deux dans une évocation de l'époque coloniale japonaise, son héritage, son influence et sa mémoire. Cet article situe dans un premier temps les auteurs dans le contexte politique et social taïwanais par une analyse de leur oeuvre, de leurs textes et de la littérature qui s'est développée à leur sujet. Ensuite sont étudiés deux films traitant de l'époque de la domination japonaise et de ses conséquences sur la culture et l'imaginaire de Taïwan : Le Maître des marionnettes et A Borrowed Life. Danielle Elisseeff, Excursion dans le monde troublant des images photographiques Résumé - L'historiographie change à mesure qu'évoluent les techniques de production et de conservation de documents toujours plus nombreux et diversifiés. La note qui suit explore quelques pistes de recherche d'images relatives au début du xxe siècle en Chine. On y évoque au passage l'impact technique et social de la photographie sur la représentation du souverain à la fin de l'empire. Emmanuel Lincot, Ai Weiwei : entre engagement et mémoire Résumé - De par sa posture intellectuelle, l'artiste Ai Weiwei s'inscrit dans une tradition mémorielle. Celle de la contestation en milieu lettré tout d'abord. Mais aussi de par son attachement à des valeurs transnationales. En cela Ai Weiwei est une figure de dérangement à valeur exploratoire. Sa démarche bouscule les représentations et la mémoire. Cette dernière est mue par l'expérience. Elle ne peut pas faire l'unanimité quant à son interprétation, ne cesse de nous dire l'artiste dont on abordera ici les différentes réalisations dans des domaines aussi divers que sont l'architecture, la photographie ou l'édition. English abstracts Muriel Peytavin , The Courtesan in Painting : Idealized Portraits, Portraits of Reality This article proposes to examine a number of portraits of courtesans from the Ming ? (1368-1644) and Qing ? (1644- 1911) dynasties, within a tradition of Chinese painting where the portrait is not painted from nature or following a model but imagined according to literary texts that prescribe the principal guidelines in the matter of portraying people, specifically women. In general, a woman is treated as a general type and not as an individual person ; the image depicted is consequently an ideological construction before being a psychological construction. This article seeks to assess the ways in which artists made use of the individuality of certain courtesans and their stories, considered as a subject in their own right, by means of a pictorial treatment distinct from the painting of beauties (meiren hua ???) in order to express new ideals and unique qualities, but which failed, however, to construct a permanent image of Chinese feminine identity. Chan Tsai-yun, Memory of an Empire : The "Long March" of the Collections of the Palace Museum in the Context of War The Palace Museum, from its creation up to the present day, has maintained a close correlation with the political evolution of the Chinese world. It reflects the Chinese imperial period, the transformation of the political system of the young Republic of China and the divisions of the Chinese world. It equally bears witness to an extremely tumultuous past marked by the Sino-Japanese War and the Nationalist-Communist Civil War. This imperial heritage, divided between China and Taiwan, serves to evoke of all manner of memories among the populations for whom "Chineseness" is deeply rooted. Sandrine Marchand , Poetic Longing : Resistance to the Image in Memorial Poetry The multiple memories of Taiwan-memories of the islanders, of the aborigines and the mainlanders-were expressed in poetry, which avoids the descriptive obligations of narrative language. Poetry thus appears as the genre most capable of underlining the shifting parts of memory, its uncertain grasp as well as its unpredictable evolution. In asking ourselves what poetic language reveals about the question of memory, we consider poems from the years 1960 to 1980, from authors who are committed to bringing up a sad past, in China or Taiwan. We reflect upon the images, their tone, their role and their value in the attempt to retain the past and to bring memory to life while mistrusting the imaginative domain. Anne Kerlan , Filming for the Nation : The Newsreel and the Construction of Visual Memory in China, 1911-1941 This article re-examines the first developments of newsreel footage up until 1941 through the work of Li Minwei, a director originally from Hong Kong. Li filmed at various times the political events around Sun Yat-sen and then Chiang Kai-shek. He took part in 1930 in the founding of a film company, Lianhua, which placed a very special emphasis on the production of newsreel films. The article examines the goals of the producers, whether they worked in conjunction with the Guomindang or on other types of projects. These newsreel films, in the diversity of their contents, undoubtedly constitute an archive of the history of China, but they also reveal differing conceptions of the national memory then in the process of construction. Samia Ferhat , Collective Memory and Images of the Past in China and Taiwan : Debates Surrounding the Cinematic Representation of the Japanese Enemy or Coloniser Since the surrender of Japan in August 1945, a particular image of that county and its role in the war in East Asia that pitted Japan against China and its allies has formed in the Chinese collective memory, all the while its destiny has been linked to that of Taiwan since the end of the 19th century. Through the analysis of Chinese and Taiwanese films, put in perspective with a detour by way of American films, this article discusses the manner in which film explores these moments of the past and proposes a new reading by means of a close reading focused on their protagonists, most frequently restored to their individuality above and beyond of any stereotypical view. Corrado Neri , History is Only a Recollection : Memory and the Creative Process of Hou Hsiao-hsien and Wu Nien-jen Hou Hsiao-hsien and Wu Nien-jen are counted among the most influential contemporary intellectuals in Taiwan ; they have both ventured into evocations of the Japanese colonial period, its legacy, its influence and memory. This article first locates the authors in the political and social contexts of Taiwan by means of an analysis of their works, their texts and the writings that have built up around them. Then, two films that deal with the period of Japanese domination and its consequences for the culture and the psyche of Taiwan are examined-The Puppetmaster and A Borrowed Life . Danielle Elisseeff , A Short Excursion into the Troubling World of Photographic Images Historiography changes in relation to the evolution of the techniques of production and conservation of documents that are constantly more numerous and diversified. This research note explores several related avenues of research on images at the beginning of the 20th century in China. It raises in passing the technical and social impact of photography on the representation of the ruler at the end of the empire. Emmanuel Lincot , Ai Weiwei : Between Engagement and Memory By his intellectual stance, the artist Ai Weiwei situates himself with in a memorial tradition-that, first of all, of protest in scholarly circles, but also by means of his commitment to transnational values. In this, Ai Weiwei is a figure of at the forefront of disruption. His approach disturbs representations and memory. This last is driven by experience ; it cannot bring about any consensus in its interpretation, and speaks to us time and again of the artist we will approach here through his different achievements in fields that are as diverse as architecture, photography and publication.

Flash.NET is the book which is your ticket to the future of application design. Two cutting-edge technologies, joined in union to provide the perfect marriage. Macromedia Flash MX really excels when it comes to presenting graphical, interactive content. It's a superb tool for building user interfaces and for presenting content that changes over time. Microsoft's NET Framework is a suite of tools for building powerful applications, both on and off the Web. Put them together, and a whole raft of new possibilities opens up for both: powerful logic and functionality with a rich, flexible interface on the front. Put them together, and you get Flash.NET. In this book, a team of expert designers and developers show you how to add dynamic NET content and turbocharged server-side functionality to your Flash MX projects. In short, you need this book if you're a Flash designer who wants a cutting-edge advantage and doesn't want to get left behind when ail the cool people have started utilizing the power of NET with their applications. To run the examples in this book for yourself, you'll need: • Microsoft Windows 2000/XP • Macromedia Flash MX • Microsoft NET Framework SDK (free download from Microsoft) The book also covers Macromedia Flash Remoting MX

The successive shocks that strike our time have acted as an indicator of men : the bland elites of yesteryear, suddenly rejected by the masses, went back silently into the void where they had first come from. This opportunist plutarchy, that maintained itself so far, thanks to the industry of lying, the targeted elimination of creative people, will soon be engulfed. Around these illusionists with no audience, the hidden alphas will begin to rise. Within a few months, alphas, forged in a new metal, invaded public space. How can it be explained ? In troubled times, the hierarchies of peacetime had left, suddenly, a place to the atomisation of individuals. Chaos then allows the individual alphas to rise to power. Like a pack of wolves, these alphas quickly take the lead of small human groups organising themselves into rival packs. The French Revolution is a striking example of this evolution : the masters of yesterday were relegated because of their unsuitability.

This is a study of Singapore pastors' worldview & understanding of the epidemiology, symptomatology and management of possession behaviour. The pastors' accounts are compared with those from the scientific disciplines, and convergences and divergences noted. Factors shaping both the pastors' and the scientific discourses are examined. The pastors are shown to respond to competing scientific paradigms by reinforcing their two-worlds worldview. They either live mainly in the other world, or in each world at a time, or between the two worlds. Based on theological reflection focusing on epistemology, theodicy & cosmology, the author shows that the paradigm of living in both worlds simultaneously is the most appropriate pastoral response. The theological vision of the coexisting worlds and the pastoral task of unmasking and resisting evil in all its varieties and depths are then discussed.

Cole Turner étudie les théories conspirationnistes depuis bien des années. De l'assassinat du président Kennedy à l'alunissage de 1969, en passant par la crise des missiles de Cuba, l'information est sans cesse remise en question par les complotistes les plus fervents. Certain qu'il comprendra mieux leur fonctionnement et leur logique, Turner décide de s'immiscer au coeur d'une étrange réunion, une réunion qui le conduit à douter de la réalité même... Se pourrait-il que les classes dominantes soient à l'origine de faits qui n'ont jamais eu lieu ? Le Département des Vérités va rapidement lui fournir des réponses, mais il se pourrait bien qu'elles soient très différentes de ce qu'il imaginait, et que la réalité soit bien moins tangible qu'il n'y paraît. Une plongée au coeur des plus grands complots de l'Histoire !

In this study an analysis of the women characters, who play a dominant part in Bachmann's prose writings, was presented. The results suggested a complex but coherent image. It was found that although the characteristics of this image deserved the appellation "sex-specific" and "traditional" they were infused with new values : the values of individualism, of a specifically female identity and of particular intense personal freedom. It was also found that the theme of personal freedom underlies all motivations, conflicts and situations of tragedy of Bachmann's heroines. Finally, it was found that the image of the woman is not only part of a distinct female-male antithesis, which often assumes violent dimensions, but has a redeeming function for a de-humanized world.

Strategically located between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, criss crossed by major communication axis joining north to South ant east to West, the South of France has always been a melting pot of people and ideas... No wonder then that as soon as the Reformation started, it received and enthusiastic welcome in many of the towns and villages and soon swept most of the Southern half of France. In many of these villages, the descendants of the Cathars and the Vaudois had been living quietly and were among the first to join the new churches. However, challenging the spiritual, and in some cases the secular, power of Rome wasn't without danger ; soon the "heretics" were being persecuted, harassed and burned with their seditious books. As the French Kings (with the notable exception of Henry IV), sided with the Pope, a culture of resistance developed and has remained to this day. This book shows the clear link and shared ideas between the Huguenots who fought Louis XIVth and their descendants who hid Jewish children and fought nazi occupation forces. Richar Maltby, retired Professor of History at King's School in Canterbury and the author of a successful illustrated history of Canterbury takes us through the villages, towns and hideouts of the Huguenots and follows the Renaissance to WWII. His well-researched and well-illustrated book describes how the influence of the Bible and protestant theology permeated a whole civilization with a strong love for freedom and rejection of oppression.

YAOUNDE BABA SCARED ? ... ME ? ... NO WAY ! YAOUNDE goes off in search of his little goat, BEEE, who, in spite of the young boy's watchful eye, has gone missing. On the way he meets ZOULÏA, a friendly mouse, and ARWANE, a little ant, who help him to find the little goat. Their search will lead them to an isolated hill where a very strange creature lives - a creature capable of transforming itself into unimaginably frightening shapes and forms to scare away anybody who dares to set foot on its steep hill. In order to find BEEE, YAOUNDE and his two friends will have little choice. They will have to cross its territory and confront this incredible and terrifying creature. 6 to 10 Years.

Portrait d'un village situé au Nord-ouest de la France (en Mayenne, région des Pays de la Loire). Village présenté dans le dictionnaire de l'abbé Angot comme étant un " territoire boisé, sillonné par les vallons de deux affluents de la Varenne : l'Aversale et le Buron. Une voie ancienne, visible sur une notable partie du tracé de Loré à Gorron devait aborder le bourg. " Portrait of a village located in the North-west of France (in Mayenne, Loire country). Village presented in the dictionary of the abbot Angot as being a " wooded territory, crisscrossed by the valleys of two tributaries of the Varenne river : the Aversale and the Buron. An old road, visible on a notable part of the route from Loré to Gorron had to approach the village. "

Séraphina de Ravilant, la plus valeureuse des chevalières d'Occident, première épée du royaume d'Illdoren, commandante chargée d'envahir les fertiles régions barbares de l'Est, est malheureusement vaincue et faite prisonnière par Vehor, le chef ennemi ! Enchaînée dans une froide geôle, elle se prépare à endurer les pires tortures et humiliations... Mais à sa grande stupeur... le chef des barbares ne veut rien d'autre que la prendre pour épouse ! Une cohabitation inattendue dans un univers hostile de fantasy débute alors.

Avant de vaincre qui que ce soit, il faudra d'abord affronter le "Ring"... Fin des années 60, au sein d'une écurie de formule 2, deux pilotes se préparent à disputer le grand prix d'Allemagne sur le mythique circuit du Nürburgring (surnommé "Ring" par les initiés). Guido Knopp, le vétéran, a travaillé durant des années au développement des voitures en vue de faire accéder la petite écurie Stanford à la Formule 1. Rejoint par le jeune espoir François Foitek, ils forment une équipe soudée et leur avenir semble des plus prometteurs. Mais l'apparition de leur futur sponsor, la veille de la course, changera leur destin à jamais. "Plein Gaz" est une nouvelle collection de bandes dessinées tournée vers l'automobile. Du récit historico-sportif à la pure fiction, la belle mécanique - sujet principal de chaque album ou simple élément du décor - est l'élément fédérateur de cette collection. Sept titres paraîtront en 2012 (février, juin et octobre).

Noah, jeune arménien naturalisé depuis peu et brillant étudiant, entre en politique grâce au soutien de Katia de Constant, la fondatrice du parti genevois La Droite. D'entrée de jeu, si le jeune homme affiche des ambitions claires, être élu au Grand Conseil, il semble aussi qu'il ait un agenda précis. Un agenda dont il n'a rien dit. Même à son amie Lashana, une jeune rwandaise avec laquelle il vit depuis un an. Le jour, les deux jeunes gens mènent des vies bien différentes, il va de radio en journaux, elle cumule les jobs précaires, mais, le soir, ils ont un point commun : leur passion pour la boxe thaïlandaise. Si Noah s'entraîne assidument, Lashana, après plusieurs victoires en amateur, va bientôt faire son premier match professionnel et espère devenir combattante à plein temps. Alors que le jour de l'élection approche, on comprend que, depuis l'Arménie, c'est la mère du jeune homme qui tire les ficelles. Ces ficelles, Noah lui-même, il ne sait jusqu'où elles le mèneront.

The two creation stories in Genesis 1-3 have been subject of intense study since the beginning of critical research on the Pentateuch in the eighteenth century. Even today, they continue to vex the biblical commentators. This work attempts to study one of these creation stories, namely the Eden Story narrated in Gen 2 : 4-3 : 24. This story graphically describes the first couple's installation in the Garden of Eden and their expulsion from it. These two themes have prompted some scholars to consider this story as a summary of Israel's history until the tragedy of exile and a prologue to the literary composition commonly called Enneateuch (Genesis - 2 Kings). Such a hypothesis is based on the premise that both Eden story and Israel's history have the same end : expulsion. The reason for such an end in both is disobedience. The study takes up this hypothesis and examines its viability. Furthermore, this work attempts to bring out the biblical message of this story. Gen 2-3 is an expression of Israel's faith resulting from its history with Yahweh and from its encounter with the surrounding cultures, and it intends to articulate a religious and anthropological identity for Israel.

This book investigates the concept of the heroic, questions what it is that makes the national hero an indispensable appendage to any possible interpretation of national identity, and asks why scholars stop short before coming to terms with this elusive phenomenon. It finds answers by following heroic traditions in Scotland, Norway and Lithuania from the early modern period to the twentieth century. The book argues that heroic traditions – prevailing trends in situating heroes in national history – owe much to the early modern state. Both national heroes and the nation state had been conceived with a similar moral political mindset that looked for new ways to identify sources for commonality. The confluence of political theory and Realpolitik attested to three classical types of polities, i.e. civitas popularis (democracy), regnum (kingship), and optimatium (aristocracy), as found at that time in Scotland, Norway and Lithuania respectively. The author shows the varied impact these patterns had on heroic traditions. The long record of national heroes in Scotland is explained as a vestige of the legacy of civic humanism, the continuing traditions of the heroic king-lines in Norway are seen as a result of long-standing absolutism, while the belated arrival of national heroes in Lithuania is excused by the country's aristocratic if at times oligarchic past.

Not satisfied with what nature offered, human beings wanted to go beyond reality and invented mysterious and intriguing creatures populating their world. During Antiquity, every culture had its own strange creatures, that mixed the forms of one or more animal, plant and human species in an infinite number of more-or-less fanciful combinations. Griffins, sphinxes, mermaids, centaurs, satyrs, pygmies, werewolves, winged monsters and unspeakable hybrids, fantastic beasts abound in the imagination of many populations throughout Antiquity. Most of them continue to live, sometimes transformed, through fairy tales, literature, movies and videogames. Faced with the abundance and variety of the ancient fantastic bestiary, the questions that come to mind are : Where do fantastic beasts come from ? How do they appear in different cultures ? What is their history, how did they survive until now ? And above all, what are fantastic beasts ? This book will explore these questions through the lens of archaeology, art history, philology and philosophy. The result is a hybrid book, precisely like the fantastic animals that constitute its object, a book which offers different approaches of analysis while being aware that our means are often vain to capture these elusive figures, which ultimately are more like us than they seem. Man, like Oedipus, will often prove to be more monstrous than the Sphinx...

Ce pourrait être une belle histoire à la gloire de l'empereur de Chine, un hymne à la magnificence de la soie, un tableau composé de fleurs de pêcher et de rizières à perte de vue. Mais l'empereur est un gnome bedonnant, la soie se fabrique dans l'enfer bouillant de l'esclavage et le riz est l'aune à laquelle se mesure la famine. Tsao et Jing-Ling raconte le périple de deux enfants arrachés à leur famille pour être esclaves dans une usine de soie à Pékin. Réquisitoire sans concession d'une Chine impériale qui disparaît et d'une société plus juste qui tarde à se mettre en place, le récit dépasse ce cadre strictement géographique : tout à la fois roman et document sur le travail des enfants et des femmes en général, il confronte les lecteurs de tous âges au pouvoir de la révolte et de l'indignation quand elles se fondent sur la solidarité et l'amour de la liberté. A partir de 12 ans.

'In April when the sweet showers fall... then people want to go on pilgrimages.' A group of pilgrims travelling from London to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury decide that each traveller should tell a story. The Knight tells a tale of high romance. The Pardoner tells a story of death. And the Wife of Bath tells the story of her five husbands and her fight to control the men in her life. But The Tales end with the story of the perfect marriage and how, if we are generous to one another, we can find the perfect society. A selection of stories from Chaucer's masterpiece depicting life in fourteenth century England is presented here in modern English. There is a wide range of activities and special informative sections on Chaucer and his times. The accompanying cassette contains the complete story and the extra listening activities.

Mehersthan Memoir (Meher Baba) This book is dedicated to the unique One who has assumed a form and name to lead the play of universal existence. He throbs in our loving heart ; He breathes in our living soul. He sings in our fervent spirit and he thinks in our purified mind. That infinite Ancient One from his supernal height, bends towards us to embrace us in his love, and to feed our soul with the nectar of his bliss. Blessed are they that have the mind to know him, the heart to feel him and the love to live in his consciousness ! He may have been born to human parents in Poona, studied in a college, played cricket, left home, have seen great souls, sat alone silent, spoken in gestures, written books - but that is not his history. Many live such a life ; many scholars write books ; many saints sit in contemplation ; many monks leave home for mountain resorts ; but they cannot be one like him. Millions of bulbs challenge in vain the darkness of night. One sun rises and the night dissolves into his golden light. One sun rises and the night dissolves into his golden light. We have seen monks, yogins and saints. Some live alone for peace. Some open Ashrams and collect donations to run them. Some comercialise their name and form. Some display miracles to surprise human minds ; some offer boons ; some predict the future ; some curse you when you do not offer them what they want. Some seek pleasure and treasure. But who seeks God and finds God in the self to awaken God-awareness in other men and women ? Who says "I am God and you are God too"? Who rises above the prattle of words, the rattle of weapons and battle of ideologies to the lofty peace of supersonic silence and pours his blessings from the dizzy height of the soul in tune with God ? Who is he that embraces all in the heart and awakens the soul which has none of the human creations of caste, religion, race, pedigree nor colour ? Editions ASSA, Christian Piaget

Far from the crowds and the well-worn clichés, Seville still has many hidden gems it only reveals to locals and visitors who head off the beaten track. An essential guide for those who thought they knew Seville well or are seeking to discover another side of the city. Why is there a stone relief of Grace Kelly on the wall of Seville Town Hall and how can you track down the railway from the Ibero-American Expo of 1929 ? Where might you find the legacy of Christopher Columbus' son, a medieval Jewish cemetery in a car park, the oddest of barbershops, forgotten souvenirs from the Guadalquivir steamboats, Masonic symbols in a church, the last remaining vestiges of the Andalusian pavilions from the '29 Expo, a little-known Modernist electric power station, an example of the Nazi Enigma machine, a collection of Chinese and Japanese art in a Renaissance mansion or the pillars of a medieval synagogue ?

Willy Loman is a salesman who believes in the American Dream. He has spent his whole career on the road, going all over New England to sell products. At sixty, he is far from retiring : he needs to keep on working to earn money in order to pay his mortgage and loans. But he does not sell as much as he used to and struggles to make ends meet. His relationship with his elder son, Biff, is chaotic : he does not understand why his son does not live up to his expectations. Thus, they fight all the time. But at the heart of the tension between them lies a secret that only the two of them know... Death of a Salesman explores the depth and complexity of human relationships and shows what happens when a man gets lost in his own dreams.

Advising people to take this attitude or that are a waste of time. Those who see or/and are aware realise also that it is none of their business to goad and advise others. Our job at best can be to answer questions by the light of our knowledge but in no way can anyone be dogmatic about it. Let us all be first aware of - Do we know ? What do we know ? How do we know that we know ? To me it is the part where we first accept that there is room for change for the better in us. Then we observe ourselves. And finally we try to bring in the change in ourselves with our will with sincerity and objectivity.

When not familiar with the language itself, most readers over the centuries have had access to the ancient Greek texts only or mostly through (Latin or vernacular) translations. Such an approach is not only indirect and mediated, but also distorted and even impoverishing : meaning then prevails over the linguistic form and substance of the texts themselves. What do later or modern readers read when they read translated texts written in an ancient so-called dead language ? They read a given meaning - sometimes unfaithful, often inaccurate - dictated by a genuine understanding, the blind continuation of tradition, or an untold hidden intention. The complex range of significances conveyed by meaning simultaneously reflects the time and space (called synchrony) of when and where a text has been translated, the historical learning and linguistic skills of the translators, as well as their ideas and style. As a contribution to the perennial debate about translation (mere literary transliteration vs. creative transposition), this volume aims at analyzing some striking cases of various (literary or not) texts translated from ancient Greek showing how much for the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries aesthetics and ideology matter as much as - and often even more than - rigorous philology.

This fascinating book presents the ? rst biography of Helen Coombe, a woman admired not only for her artistic skill, but also for her intellect, personality and wit. It reveals her family background and education, her place in the Arts and Crafts Movement and her outstanding artistic output. Helen Coombe was married to Roger Fry, an artist who was to achieve most fame as an art critic, historian and protagonist of the Bloomsbury Group. Soon after their marriage in 1896, she displayed symptoms of schizophrenia. After the ? rst episode, she temporarily resumed her career and had two children with Fry, but for the last thirty years of her life she was sectioned under the Lunacy Act and committed to an institution. This thoroughly researched book makes full use of archival material, including correspondence, diaries and medical records. It illuminates late Victorian and Edwardian society and culture. It throws new light, by no means all of it favourable, on Roger Fry. It is a 'must' for all interested in the Bloomsbury Group, art history, and the handling of mental illness at a time before ef ? cacious antipsychotic drugs were available.

"New Worlds" presents a selection of five outstanding nautical atlases known as portolan charts, or "portalans".These historic documents are the work of eminent scholars from Majorca, Lisbon, Le Havre, and Amsterdam. Cartographers by trade, and sometimes also skilled illuminators, they mapped what was the most probable imago mundi for their time, each exemplar crafting a fascinating visual chronicle. Jean-Yves Sarazin, head of Charts and Maps at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, scrutinizes thèse charts or atlases, and situates them in the great history of European discoveries and voyages from the early 14th to the late 17th century, from the Portuguese reconnaissance of the coasts of Africa, through the adventures of Columbus,Vespucci, and Magellan, to the Dutch voyages in the Pacific and Australia.The book's many colour reproductions are alive with picturesque details: camel caravans in the heart ofAsia, Portuguese andArab ships sailing in the Indian Ocean, wild beasts or chimaera, countless exotic plants, naval battles, and not least the frequent strangeness of the indigenous people.

The Studies in Slang monographs are a forum for the detailed discussion of slang items, an activity of worth in itself and for the insight it can bring to broader issues in linguistics. We deal here in particular with the study of languages in their social context, the role of the individual in linguistic innovation, and the several-stage development of various slang items.

Ce livre fascinant raconte l'histoire de la construction de la collection de faux et de contrefaçons de manuscrits enluminés appartenant à William M. Voelkle. A travers des essais approfondis et de belles illustrations, Voelkle retrace l'histoire de près de soixante-dix faux et contrefaçons. The book takes the reader on a journey that sheds light on the nature and detection of forgery of manuscript illumination. An engaging introduction by Christopher de Hamel raises tantalizing questions that touch on the very meaning of authenticity and our continuing fascination with forgery. Scientific analysis of pigments, the identification of sources, and the scrutiny of the materials all come into play in the unfolding story of the collection. An illustrated catalogue presents the group of nearly seventy fakes and forgeries that display astonishing breadth. They include not only the Spanish Forger and other Western European miniatures by Ernesto Sprega, Caleb William Wing, and Germano Prosdocimi, and others, but fascinating examples from the Christian East, from Ethiopia, from Mexico, and from Persia and India. Published here in its entirety for the first time, the Voelkle Collection is the only comprehensive one of fakes and forgeries of manuscript painting in private hands. Voelkle's fifty-year career at the Morgan Library & Museum was inextricably interwoven with the construction of the collection, which is detailed in the foreword. The personal narrative reveals the author as a collector and a scholar. As an enthusiastic collector, he pursues examples of forgery, marveling at the range of skills of deception. As a scholar, he disentangles the sources that served forgers and the chains of provenance that sometimes led to their exposure. Included also in the book is a comprehensive list of William M. Voelkle's publications.