Download or read book The Dancing Plague written by John Waller and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2009-09-01 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gripping tale of one of history's most bizarre events, and what it reveals about the strange possibilities of human nature In the searing July heat of 1518, Frau Troffea stepped into the streets of Strasbourg and began to dance. Bathed in sweat, she continued to dance. Overcome with exhaustion, she stopped, and then resumed her solitary jig a few hours later. Over the next two months, roughly four hundred people succumbed to the same agonizing compulsion. At its peak, the epidemic claimed the lives of fifteen men, women, and children a day. Possibly 100 people danced to their deaths in one of the most bizarre and terrifying plagues in history. John Waller compellingly evokes the sights, sounds, and aromas; the diseases and hardships; the fervent supernaturalism and the desperate hedonism of the late medieval world. Based on new evidence, he explains why the plague occurred and how it came to an end. In doing so, he sheds light on the strangest capabilities of the human mind and on our own susceptibility to mass hysteria.
Download or read book A Time to Dance a Time to Die written by John Waller and published by Icon Books Company. This book was released on 2008 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In July 1518 a terrifying and mysterious plague struck the medieval city of Strasbourg. Hundreds of men and women danced wildly, day after day, in the punishing summer heat. Their feet blistered and bled, and their limbs ached with fatigue, but they simply could not stop. Throughout August and early September more and more were seized by the same terrible compulsion." "By the time the epidemic subsided, heat and exhaustion had claimed an untold number of lives, leaving thousands bewildered and bereaved, and an enduring enigma for future generations." "This book explains why Strasbourg's dancing plague took place. In doing so, it leads us into a largely vanished world, evoking the sights, sounds, aromas, diseases and hardships, the fervent supernaturalism and the desperate hedonism of the late-medieval world." "At the same time, it offers insights into how people behave when driven beyond the limits of endurance. Not only a historical detective story, A Time to Dance, A Time to Die is also an exploration of the strangest capabilities of the human mind and the extremes to which fear and irrationality can lead us."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Dancing with Death written by Jean-Philippe Soulé and published by Jean-Philippe Soulé. This book was released on 2019-01-14 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An unforgettable escapade of ultimate danger and discovery…” - Readers' Favorite Fans of Jon Krakauer will devour this gripping tale of adventure, survival, and a search for life’s deeper meaning. Two men, three years, seven countries, 3000 miles… The Central American Sea Kayak Expedition 2000 is an inspiring journey of exploration, endurance, and self-discovery that takes Jean-Philippe Soulé and his traveling partner Luke Shullenberger from Baja California all the way to Panama. During this unfathomably grueling expedition, they face every manner of threat, from sharks, crocodiles, and bandits to stormy seas, malaria, and their own mortality—all in search of a deeper connection to Mother Nature and the indigenous people who revere her most. This riveting memoir of physical and emotional endurance will leave you breathless as you experience their victories, misfortunes and sacrifices. An evocative, gripping narrative coupled with award-winning photographs that is a must-read for those who love travel, outdoor adventure, and cultural exploration—and for the dreamers who've been told they can't, but stubbornly refuse to listen.
Download or read book Dancing the Death Drill written by Fred Khumalo and published by Penguin Random House South Africa. This book was released on 2017-02-06 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘Be quiet and be calm, my countrymen, for what is taking place is exactly what you came to do ... Brothers, we are drilling the death drill.’ – Reverend Isaac Wauchope Dyobha Paris, 1958. A skirmish in a world-famous restaurant leaves two men dead and the restaurant staff baffled. Why did the head waiter, a man who’s been living in France for many years, lunge at his patrons with a knife? As the man awaits trial, a journalist hounds his long-time friend, hoping to expose the true story behind this unprecedented act of violence. Gradually, the extraordinary story of Pitso Motaung, a young South African who volunteered to serve with the Allies in the First World War, emerges. Through a tragic twist of fate, Pitso found himself on board the ss Mendi, a ship that sank off the Isle of Wight in February 1917. More than six hundred of his countrymen, mostly black soldiers, lost their lives in a catastrophe that official history largely forgot. One particularly cruel moment from that day will remain etched in Pitso’s mind, resurfacing decades later to devastating effect. Dancing the Death Drill recounts the life of Pitso Motaung. It is a personal and political tale that spans continents and generations, moving from the battlefields of the Boer War to the front lines in France and beyond. With a captivating blend of pathos and humour, Fred Khumalo brings to life a historical event, honouring both those who perished in the disaster and those who survived.
Download or read book Dancing with Death written by Shanna Hogan and published by Diversion Books. This book was released on 2021-12-07 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A former stripper turned suburban housewife is exposed as a brutal killer in this shocking true crime tale of a loving husband beheaded in Phoenix. Phoenix, Arizona, 2004. Marjorie Orbin filed a missing person’s report on her husband, Jay. She claimed that the successful art dealer had left town on business after celebrating their son’s birthday more than a month before. But no one believed that Jay would abandon the family he loved. Authorities suspected foul play . . . As the search for Jay made local headlines, Marjorie’s story starting coming apart. Why did she wait so long before going to police? If Jay was away on business, why were there charges made to his credit card in Phoenix? Then, the unthinkable happened. Jay’s headless, limbless torso was discovered on the outskirts of the Phoenix desert—and all evidence pointed to Marjorie as the killer. The investigation revealed surprising details about her life—six previous marriages, an ongoing affair with a man from her gym, and alleged ties to the New York mafia.
Download or read book Dancing Skeletons written by Katherine A. Dettwyler and published by Waveland Press. This book was released on 2013-09-26 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most widely used ethnographies published in the last twenty years, this Margaret Mead Award winner has been used as required reading at more than 600 colleges and universities. This personal account by a biocultural anthropologist illuminates not-soon-forgotten messages involving the sobering aspects of fieldwork among malnourished children in West Africa. With nutritional anthropology at its core, Dancing Skeletons presents informal, engaging, and oftentimes dramatic stories that relate the author’s experiences conducting research on infant feeding and health in Mali. Through fascinating vignettes and honest, vivid descriptions, Dettwyler explores such diverse topics as ethnocentrism, culture shock, population control, breastfeeding, child care, the meaning of disability and child death in different cultures, female circumcision, women’s roles in patrilineal societies, the dangers of fieldwork, and facing emotionally draining realities. Readers will laugh and cry as they meet the author’s friends and informants, follow her through a series of encounters with both peri-urban and rural Bambara culture, and struggle with her as she attempts to reconcile her very different roles as objective ethnographer, subjective friend, and mother in the field. The 20th Anniversary Edition includes a 13-page “Q&A with the Author” in which Dettwyler responds to typical questions she has received individually from students who have been assigned Dancing Skeletons as well as audience questions at lectures on various campuses. The new 23-page “Update on Mali, 2013” chapter is a factual update about economic and health conditions in Mali as well as a brief summary of the recent political unrest.
Download or read book The Dance of Death written by Austin Dobson and published by Legare Street Press. This book was released on 2022-10-27 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Download or read book The English Dance of Death written by William Combe and published by . This book was released on 1815 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Dance of Death in the Middle Ages written by Elina Gertsman and published by Brepols Publishers. This book was released on 2010 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elina Gertsman's multifaceted study introduces readers to the imagery and texts of the Dance of Death, an extraordinary subject that first emerged in western European art and literature in the late medieval era. Conceived from the start as an inherently public image, simultaneously intensely personal and widely accessible, the medieval Dance of Death proclaimed the inevitability of death and declared the futility of human ambition. Gertsman inquires into the theological, socio-historic, literary, and artistic contexts of the Dance of Death, exploring it as a site of interaction between text, image, and beholder. Pulling together a wide variety of sources and drawing attention to those images that have slipped through the cracks of the art historical canon, Gertsman examines the visual, textual, aural, pastoral, and performative discourses that informed the creation and reception of the Dance of Death, and proposes different modes of viewing for several paintings, each of which invited the beholder to participate in an active, kinesthetic experience.
Download or read book Dancing at the Pity Party written by Tyler Feder and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-04-05 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This acclaimed graphic memoir that Kirkus calls “cathartic and uplifting” is the tale of losing a parent and what it feels like to grieve and to move forward. “I can’t recommend this kind, funny, and poignant memoir enough. It’s an intimate, life-affirming story of resilience that feels like a good friend.” —Mari Andrew, author of Am I There Yet? Tyler Feder had just white-knuckled her way through her first year of college when her super cool mom was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Now, with a decade of grief and nervous laughter under her belt, Tyler shares the story of that gut-wrenching, heart-pounding, extremely awkward time in her life—from her mom’s first oncology appointment to her funeral through the beginning of facing reality as a motherless daughter. She shares the sting of loss that never goes away, the uncomfortable post-death firsts, and the deep-down, hard-to-talk-about feelings of the grieving process. Dancing at the Pity Party is a frank and refreshingly funny look at what it’s like to grieve—for anyone struggling with loss who just wants someone to get it.
Download or read book Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor 1980 1983 written by Tim Lawrence and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2016-09-15 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the 1970s gave way to the 80s, New York's party scene entered a ferociously inventive period characterized by its creativity, intensity, and hybridity. Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor chronicles this tumultuous time, charting the sonic and social eruptions that took place in the city’s subterranean party venues as well as the way they cultivated breakthrough movements in art, performance, video, and film. Interviewing DJs, party hosts, producers, musicians, artists, and dancers, Tim Lawrence illustrates how the relatively discrete post-disco, post-punk, and hip hop scenes became marked by their level of plurality, interaction, and convergence. He also explains how the shifting urban landscape of New York supported the cultural renaissance before gentrification, Reaganomics, corporate intrusion, and the spread of AIDS brought this gritty and protean time and place in American culture to a troubled denouement.
Download or read book Dancing to My Death written by Daniel O'Leary and published by Columba Press (IE). This book was released on 2019 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the summer of 2018 Daniel O'Leary received the news that we all dread - a cancer diagnosis. As a priest, teacher, bestselling author and retreat facilitator, it was a natural instinct for Daniel to journal his thoughts and feelings during his illness. Completed just before his death in January 2019, this book is an incredibly raw and courageous account. It pulls no punches in terms of Daniel's struggles to cope with his diagnosis, the challenges of cancer treatment and the emotional roller coaster of facing his own death. The book reveals a soul in chaos. It has the extremes of a kite in a storm - it sweeps between hope and despair, throws cartwheels and steadies out, crashes with fear and continues with raw and real courage. During his final months Daniel found a great clarity about what is important in life. There is a tough honesty here: an honesty that can only emerge when people are encouraged to really explore what their Christianity means to them.
Download or read book Dancing with Mister D written by Bert Keizer and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "It is potentially the most divisive issue in health care: physician-assisted suicide. When is it permissible to put an end to a life? Across the United States, doctors, patients, families, and the courts are struggling with this wrenching question. While it may not provide an answer, this remarkable book sheds new light on the problem - and offers insights to those wrestling with this dilemma." "Bert Keizer is a Dutch physician with a degree in philosophy, a probing mind resistant to cant, and a manner both sardonic and compassionate. This book is a memoir of his years at a Dutch nursing home for the terminally ill - a place that requires all his resources of humanity and will, and where gallows humor is a necessity. As euthanasia is legal in Holland, Keizer is not infrequently called upon to assist in a patient's suicide. His often surprising reflections on his role are punctuated by the moving stories of his patients' lives, his own thoughts on the absurdities and paradoxes of his profession, and the blend of cynicism and complacent conventional wisdom he hears from his colleagues."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Download or read book Dancing on the Grave written by Nigel Barley and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seeking to merge the information of theologians and anthropologists, this book looks at the variety of ways in which cultures around the world deal with death and give it meaning. In some cultures, most famously Ancient Egypt, families would virtually financially ruin themselves in order to deal with the death of just one person. Other cultures such as the nomadic peoples of southern Africa, simply pull down the roof of their dwelling onto the body and move on, while the wrapped bodies in Torajan (Indonesian) houses are used as shelves. The reader is guided through such diverse areas as myths about death, belief about ways to mourn, joking at funerals, post-mortem videos, cannibalism, headhunting and royal mortuary ritual.
Download or read book Death and the Dancing Footman written by Ngaio Marsh and published by Felony & Mayhem Press. This book was released on 2012-12-15 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This tale of murder at a snowed-in country house is a “constant puzzle to the end . . . alive with wit” (The New York Times). The unspeakably wealthy (and generally unspeakable) Jonathan Royal has decided to throw a party and, just for fun, has studded the guest list with people who loathe one another. When a blizzard imprisons them all in Royal’s country house, murder ensues, and there are nearly as many suspects as there are potential victims. Eventually, Inspector Alleyn makes his way through the snow to put things right, in this classic whodunit by the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. “A smooth yarn.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Download or read book Masquerade written by Tivadar Soros and published by Arcade Publishing. This book was released on 2001 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author recounts his years lived under a fake Christian identity during the Nazi occupation of Hungary in the Second World War, including the efforts he put forth to protect his family as well as many other Jews.
Download or read book Dancing Age ing written by Susanne Martin and published by transcript Verlag. This book was released on 2017-02-28 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can contemporary dance contribute to a critical discourse on age and ageing? Built on the premise that age(ing) is something we practice and perform as individuals and as a society, Susanne Martin asks for and develops strategies that allow dance artists to do age(ing) differently. As a whole, this project is an artistic research inquiry, which draws on and contributes to dance practice. The study develops, discusses, and stages practices and performances of age(ing) that offer alternatives to stereotypical and normative age(ing) narratives, which are not only part of dance but also of everyday culture.
