Download or read book Proust written by Benjamin Taylor and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-27 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Taylor’s endeavor is not to explain the life by the novel or the novel by the life but to show how different events, different emotional upheavals, fired Proust’s imagination and, albeit sometimes completely transformed, appeared in his work. The result is a very subtle, thought-provoking book.”—Anka Muhlstein, author of Balzac’s Omelette and Monsieur Proust’s Library Marcel Proust came into his own as a novelist comparatively late in life, yet only Shakespeare, Balzac, Dickens, Tolstoy, and Dostoyevsky were his equals when it came to creating characters as memorably human. As biographer Benjamin Taylor suggests, Proust was a literary lightweight before writing his multivolume masterwork In Search of Lost Time, but following a series of momentous historical and personal events, he became—against all expectations—one of the greatest writers of his, and indeed any, era. This insightful, beautifully written biography examines Proust’s artistic struggles—the “search” of the subtitle—and stunning metamorphosis in the context of his times. Taylor provides an in-depth study of the author’s life while exploring how Proust’s personal correspondence and published works were greatly informed by his mother’s Judaism, his homosexuality, and such dramatic events as the Dreyfus Affair and, above all, World War I. As Taylor writes in his prologue, “Proust’s Search is the most encyclopedic of novels, encompassing the essentials of human nature. . . . His account, running from the early years of the Third Republic to the aftermath of World War I, becomes the inclusive story of all lives, a colossal mimesis. To read the entire Search is to find oneself transfigured and victorious at journey’s end, at home in time and in eternity too.”
Download or read book In Search of the Dark Watchers written by Benjamin Brode and published by Self Publisher. This book was released on 2014-01-01 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thomas Steinbeck vivid childhood recollections and Brode's Big Sur sketches and oil paintings. softbound format. 64 pages.
Download or read book In Search of Pinot Noir written by Benjamin Lewin and published by . This book was released on 2012-09-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pinot Noir is a uniquely challenging grape with an unrivalled ability to reflect the character of the site where it grows. Winemakers all over the world have set out in search of the Holy Grail: to repeat Burgundy's success with Pinot Noir. "In Search of Pinot Noir" investigates the changing character of Burgundy, asks what happens to Pinot Noir outside of Burgundy, and examines how the wines of each region age.
Download or read book Searching for Whitopia written by Rich Benjamin and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2009-10-06 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As America becomes more and more racially diverse, Rich Benjamin noticed a phenomenon: Some communities were actually getting less multicultural. So he got out a map, found the whitest towns in the USA -- and moved in. A journalist-adventurer, Benjamin packed his bags and embarked on a 26,909-mile journey throughout the heart of white America, to some of the fastest-growing and whitest locales in our nation. Benjamin calls these enclaves "Whitopias." In this groundbreaking book, he shares what he learned as a black man in Whitopia. Benjamin's journey to unlock the mysteries of Whitopia took him from a three-day white separatist retreat with links to Aryan Nations in North Idaho to exurban mega-churches down South, and many points in between. A compelling raconteur, bon vivant, and scholar, Benjamin reveals what Whitopias are like and explores the urgent social and political implications of this startling phenomenon. Benjamin's groundbreaking study is one of few to have illuminated in advance the social and political forces propelling the rise of Donald Trump. After all, Trump carried 94 percent of America's Whitopian counties. And he won a median 67 percent of the vote in Whitopia compared to 46 percent of the vote nationwide. Leaving behind speculation or sensationalism, Benjamin explores the future of whiteness and race in an increasingly multicultural nation.
Download or read book Now Ben written by Gene Barretta and published by Henry Holt and Company (BYR). This book was released on 2006-03-07 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The inventions and inspiration of Benjamin Franklin and how they've stood the test of time What would you do if you lived in a community without a library, hospital, post office, or fire department? If you were Benjamin Franklin, you'd set up these organizations yourself. Franklin also designed the lightning rod, suggested the idea of daylight savings time, and invented bifocals-all inspired by his common sense and intelligence. In this informative book, Gene Barretta brings Benjamin Franklin's genius to life, deepening our appreciation for one of the most influential figures in American history. Now & Ben is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Download or read book The First Scientific American written by Joyce Chaplin and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2007-08-02 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Famous, fascinating Benjamin Franklin -- he would be neither without his accomplishments in science. Joyce Chaplin's authoritative biography considers all of Franklin's work in the sciences, showing how, during the rise and fall of the first British empire, science became central to public culture and therefore to Franklin's success. Having demonstrated in his earliest experiments and observations that he could master nature, Franklin showed the world that he was uniquely suited to solve problems in every realm. In the famous adage, Franklin "snatched lightning from the sky and the scepter from the tyrants" -- in that order. The famous kite and other experiments with electricity were only part of Franklin's accomplishments. He charted the Gulf Stream, made important observations on meteorology, and used the burgeoning science of "political arithmetic" to make unprecedented statements about America's power. Even as he stepped onto the world stage as an illustrious statesman and diplomat in the years leading up to the American Revolution, his fascination with nature was unrelenting. Franklin was the first American whose "genius" for science qualified him as a genius in political affairs. It is only through understanding Franklin's full engagement with the sciences that we can understand this great Founding Father and the world he shaped.
Download or read book Images of History written by Richard Eldridge and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-12 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human subjects are both formed by historical inheritances and capable of active criticism. Insisting on this fact, Kant and Benjamin each develop powerful, systematic, but sharply opposed accounts of human powers and interests in freedom. A persistent constitutive tension between Kantian and Benjaminan ideals is woven through human life. By examining the two philosophers through this volume, Richard Eldridge attempts to make better sense of the commitment forming, commitment revising, anxious, reflective and acculturated human subjects we are.
Download or read book The Curious Case of Benjamin Button written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2022-11-13 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is anthologized in his book Tales of the Jazz Age. In 1860 Baltimore, Benjamin is born with the physical appearance of a 70-year-old man, already capable of speech. His father Roger invites neighborhood boys to play with him and orders him to play with children's toys, but Benjamin obeys only to please his father. At five, Benjamin is sent to kindergarten but is quickly withdrawn after he repeatedly falls asleep during child activities. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was released as a motion picture late in 2008 starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett and directed by David Fincher. The screenplay differs greatly from the short story. Only the title, Benjamin's name, and most aspects of the aging process are retained in the screenplay. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896-1940) was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigmatic writings of the Jazz Age. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the 1920s.
Download or read book Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas written by Philippe Coudray and published by Candlewick Press. This book was released on 2013-03-26 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Benjamin Bear, accompanied by his faithful rabbit friend, continues to share his observations and questions about the world around him.
Download or read book Benjamin Franklin Wit and Wisdom written by Benjamin Franklin and published by Peter Pauper Press, Inc.. This book was released on 1998-03 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls written by James Bird and published by Feiwel & Friends. This book was released on 2022-04-19 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A middle-grade novel by James Bird about a boy sent to his Ojibwe family to straighten out his life. Benjamin Waterfalls comes from a broken home, and the quickest fix he’s found for his life is to fill that emptiness with stuff he steals and then sells. But he’s been caught one too many times, and when he appears before a tough judge, his mother proposes sending him to “boot camp” at the Ojibwe reservation where they used to live. Soon he is on his way to Grand Portage, Minnesota, to live with his father – the man Benny hasn’t seen in years. Not only is “boot camp” not what he expects, but his rehabilitation seems to be in the hands of the tribal leader’s daughter, who wears a mask. Why? Finding the answer to this and so many other questions prove tougher than any military-style boot camp. Will answers be enough for Benny to turn his life around and embrace his second chance?
Download or read book In Search of Wealth and Power written by Benjamin Scwartz and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a serious effort to divine the secret of the West's success in achieving wealth and power, Yen Fu, a Chinese thinker, undertook, at the turn of the century, years of laborious translation and commentary on the work of such thinkers as Spencer, Huxley, Adam Smith, Mill, and Montesquieu. In addition to the inevitable difficulties involved in translating modern English into classical Chinese, Yen Fu was faced with the formidable problem of interpreting and making palatable many Western ideas which were to a large extent antithetical to traditional Chinese thought. In an absorbing study of Yen Fu's translations, essays, and commentaries, Benjamin Schwartz examines the modifications and consequent revaluation of these familiar works as they were presented to their new audience, and analyzes the impact of this Western thought on the Chinese culture of the time. Drawing on a unique knowledge of both intellectual traditions, Schwartz describes the diverse and complex effects of this confrontation of Eastern and Western philosophies and provides a new vantage point to assess and appreciate these two disparate worlds.
Download or read book The Thing About Jellyfish FREE PREVIEW EDITION The First 11 Chapters written by Ali Benjamin and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2015-08-18 with total page 47 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This stunning debut novel about grief and wonder was an instant New York Times bestseller and captured widespread critical acclaim, including selection as a 2015 National Book Award finalist! After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy must have been a rare jellyfish sting--things don't just happen for no reason. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory--even if it means traveling the globe, alone. Suzy's achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe...and the potential for love and hope right next door. Oddlot Entertainment has acquired the screen rights to The Thing About Jellyfish, with Gigi Pritzker set to produce with Bruna Papandrea and Reese Witherspoon.
Download or read book In Search of Alania written by Timothy R. Oesch and published by Tate Publishing. This book was released on 2013-05 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A chill ran through Alania's body upon hearing the villain speak the words Princess Alania. She had not been addressed as Princess Alania in any sort of public gathering since she was twelve years old. She stared at Charkston without moving. She had assumed that Charkston and his band of Vandolian kidnappers were sent to abduct Deborah of Glamster, the intended bride of John the Blacksmith. No wonder Jamal was offering such a rich reward; he was seeking to steal the virgin daughter of Queen Aracia... Moments before, Princess Alania, in hiding under the alias Deborah of Glamster, had just donned her wedding dress in a secluded mountain glade. Zake, the eldest son of Sir Marticus the Avenger and under the alias John the Blacksmith, is ready to behold a bride worthy of chaste devotion. Only select guests are invited to the secret wedding so that it will remain hidden from the knowledge of Jamal, Charftan of the evil kingdom of Vandolia in the underground realm of Subterrania. The ceremony, however, is not as clandestine as they would have hoped... Once Zake discovers that his betrothed has been kidnapped and is to be delivered to the lecherous Jamal, he ventures into the depths of Subterrania, a vast and dangerous world filled with fantastical creatures and characters. Seeking justice and Alania, Zake is catapulted into the greatest adventure he will ever experience. In Search of Alania is the second book in a trilogy that begins with Zarkanis and Colesia and ends with the forthcoming Call to Subterrania.
Download or read book In Search of Kynde Knowynge written by Madeleine Kasten and published by Rodopi. This book was released on 2007 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Readers today no longer relish sustained allegorical narratives the way they did in the Middle Ages, when the art of 'other-speaking' was as dominant in poetic discourse as it was elsewhere. Yet we live in an age which, following the postmodernist dictum that any sign can only refer to other signs, has declared all language liable to the 'allegorical condition'. This paradox has led the author to question the epistemological assumptions underlying allegories composed in an era which, conversely, favoured the oblique form of expression while professing its belief in the divine Logos as the ultimate ground of all meaning. If art and doctrine appear so divided on the subject of allegory in our own day, then might not the relationship between allegorical writing and interpretation in the Middle Ages have been more complex than is often assumed? How solid are the grounds on which Michel Foucault has based his distinction between early modernity and its past - a time when, he claims, the languages of the world were still perceived to make up "the image of the truth"? The present study addresses these and related questions through a heuristic comparison between historically and culturally different approaches to narrative allegory. In her analysis of the late-fourteenth century dream poem Piers Plowman by William Langland, Kasten sets up a critical dialogue between this extraordinary work and Walter Benjamin's study of German baroque allegory, The Origin of German Tragic Drama. Far from serving the narrow purposes of didacticism, she contends, Piers Plowman invites a reconsideration of the very grounds on which (post-) modernity has tried to distance itself from its cultural past. Madeleine Kasten is a lecturer at the Literary Studies Department of Leiden University, The Netherlands. She has published on allegory, on Shakespeare, and on personification and performance.
Download or read book In Search of Our Roots written by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and published by Crown. This book was released on 2009-01-27 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unlike most white Americans who, if they are so inclined, can search their ancestral records, identifying who among their forebears was the first to set foot on this country’s shores, most African Americans, in tracing their family’s past, encounter a series of daunting obstacles. Slavery was a brutally efficient nullifier of identity, willfully denying black men and women even their names. Yet, from that legacy of slavery, there have sprung generations who’ve struggled, thrived, and lived extraordinary lives. For too long, African Americans’ family trees have been barren of branches, but, very recently, advanced genetic testing techniques, combined with archival research, have begun to fill in the gaps. Here, scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., backed by an elite team of geneticists and researchers, takes nineteen extraordinary African Americans on a once unimaginable journey, tracing family sagas through U.S. history and back to Africa. Those whose recovered pasts collectively form an African American “people’s history” of the United States include celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock, Don Cheadle, Chris Tucker, Morgan Freeman, Tina Turner, and Quincy Jones; writers such as Maya Angelou and Bliss Broyard; leading thinkers such as Harvard divinity professor Peter Gomes, the Reverend T. D. Jakes, neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and sociologist Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot; and famous achievers such as astronaut Mae Jemison, media personality Tom Joyner, decathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Ebony and Jet publisher Linda Johnson Rice. More than a work of history, In Search of Our Roots is a book of revelatory importance that, for the first time, brings to light the lives of ordinary men and women who, by courageous example, blazed a path for their famous descendants. For a reader, there is the stirring pleasure of witnessing long-forgotten struggles and triumphs–but there’s an enduring reward as well. In accompanying the nineteen contemporary achievers on their journey into the past and meeting their remarkable forebears, we come to know ourselves.
Download or read book Benjamin s Passages written by Alexander Gelley and published by Fordham Univ Press. This book was released on 2014-12-15 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In transposing the Freudian dream work from the individual subject to the collective, Walter Benjamin projected a “macroscosmic journey” of the individual sleeper to “the dreaming collective, which, through the arcades, communes with its own insides.” Benjamin’s effort to transpose the dream phenomenon to the history of a collective remained fragmentary, though it underlies the principle of retrograde temporality, which, it is argued, is central to his idea of history. The “passages” are not just the Paris arcades: They refer also to Benjamin’s effort to negotiate the labyrinth of his work and thought. Gelley works through many of Benjamin’s later works and examines important critical questions: the interplay of aesthetics and politics, the genre of The Arcades Project, citation, language, messianism, aura, and the motifs of memory, the crowd, and awakening. For Benjamin, memory is not only antiquarian; it functions as a solicitation, a call to a collectivity to come. Gelley reads this call in the motif of awakening, which conveys a qualified but crucial performative intention of Benjamin’s undertaking.
