reaktion books

reaktion books
new titles • autumn/winter 2011
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The Puzzle of Left-handedness is an enlightening account of the strange theories and bizarre
perceptions of left-handedness which will be sure to fascinate and entertain both left- and
right-handed readers. We follow with the richly illustrated Burning Issues: Fire in Art and the
Social Imagination, which guides us through the beliefs, superstitions and representations
of fire in culture and art, both historical and contemporary.
Picturing Atrocity, a powerful collection of essays and images from an impressive array of
contributors, deals with the most disturbing photographs of atrocities over the decades,
and asks why we are compelled to look at these images? Crucial reading for anyone who
cares about injustice and suffering.
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Our Edible, Animal, Critical Lives, Modern Architectures in History and Exposures series all
offer new titles this season, from Bread and Olive, Wolf and Trout, Derek Jarman and Gandhi,
Italy to Photography and Ireland.
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isbn 978 1 86189 830 2
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Cover: © Lauri Wiberg/iStockphoto lp
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We are pleased to announce a selection of art titles: a revealing monograph on the artist
Willem de Kooning by Richard Shiff; a vibrant and witty compendium of artists’ postcards;
and an intriguing history of art forgery. In addition, Sandy Nairne, Director of the National
Portrait Gallery, provides a true story in Art Theft and the Case of the Stolen Turners, a dramatic
eye-witness account of recovering high-profile stolen art, combined with an analysis of why
such thefts take place.
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TRADE INFORMATION
Welcome to the Reaktion Books Autumn/Winter 2011 catalogue.
The Puzzle of
Left-handedness
RIK SMITS
Left-handedness seems no big deal. After all,
it didn’t stop anyone from becoming President
of the United States. Many of us – just like
Barack Obama – are left-handed and those
of us who aren’t don’t tend to give left-handedness any thought. Yet throughout history
it has been associated with clumsiness and
with dubious traits such as untrustworthiness
and insincerity. Just look at the Latin word for
left, sinister, redolent of all kinds of ominous
connotations.
For author Rik Smits, left-handedness is
a puzzle. Why has history been so unkind
to our left-handed forebears? In this book he
carefully puts together the pieces of the puzzle,
presenting an array of historical anecdotes,
strange superstitions and weird wives’ tales.
In 38 brief and entertaining chapters, he relates
how left-handedness was – and sometimes
still is – associated with so-called disorders
of all kinds, including mental retardation,
alcoholism, asthma, hay fever, homosexuality,
cancer, diabetes, insomnia, suicidal urges and
criminality. Even in the twentieth century there
are opponents – or are these just advocates
for right-handedness? – with one prominent
psychologist announcing it as tantamount
to ‘infantile negativism’, the equivalent of a
refusal to eat everything on your plate; and
another psychologist recently claiming that
left-handed people had lifespans nine years
shorter than average. As Smits reminds us,
speculation about left-handed mortality was
and remains public entertainment, backed by
little factual evidence.
The Puzzle of Left-handedness is an enlightening, engaging and often entertaining
odyssey through the puzzles and paradoxes,
endless philosophizing and theorizing, of lefthandedness lore.
rik smits is a linguist, science journalist and
the author of Dawn: How Language Made Man
(in Dutch, 2009). He is left-handed.
August 2011
Hardback
78 illustrations
978 1 86189 873 9
Popular Science
216 × 138 mm
384 pp
£20
1
Burning Issues
Fire in Art and the
Social Imagination
ALAN KRELL
From the Greek myth of Prometheus to the
Cherokee legend of the Fire People, fire has
always sparked our imagination. Fire destroys
lives and structures, but it mesmerizes us and
we celebrate it. We cook with fire and we warm
ourselves in front of its comforting presence.
Fire can ravage the environment, but it also
replenishes. In all of these circumstances,
fire asserts itself as a powerful presence in
our lives.
In Burning Issues Alan Krell reflects on
fire’s contradictory and paradoxical nature
through a highly personal examination of a
fascinating range of sources that include the
mythological and the biblical; newspaper
reports and diaries; paintings and children’s
tales; photography and film. Burning Issues
examines representations of fire in word
and image, looking at the work of painters
including Bosch, Arcimboldo, Goya, Courbet,
Dalí, Miró and Tinguely, as well as other
contemporary figures who use fire as a theme
in their art and performance. Questions
concerning the private and the public,
the intimate and the invasive, the destructive
and the redemptive, all weave through this
generously illustrated book.
A captivating history of an element we
take nearly take for granted in our daily lives
until it threatens us, Burning Issues celebrates
the magical discovery that took place when
man thought to rub two sticks together until
they sparked.
alan krell is Associate Professor at the
School of Art History and Art Education,
College of Fine Arts, University of New South
Wales, Sydney, Australia. He is the author of
The Devil’s Rope: A Cultural History of Barbed
Wire (Reaktion, 2002).
September 2011
Hardback
84 illustrations, 42 in colour
2
978 1 86189 856 2
Art
280 × 210 mm
224 pp
£30
Picturing Atrocity
Photography in Crisis
EDITED BY GEOFFREY BATCHEN,
MICK GIDLEY, NANCY K. MILLER AND
JAY PROSSER
Ever since the landmark publication of
Susan Sontag’s On Photography, it has been
impossible to look at photographs, particularly those of violence and suffering, without
questioning our role as photographic voyeur.
Are we desensitized by the proliferation of
these images? Or do the images stir our own
sense of justice and act as a call to arms? Are
we consuming the suffering of others? What
should our responses to these images be?
To answer these questions, Picturing
Atrocity brings together essays from some of
the foremost writers on photography today,
including Rebecca Solnit, Alfredo Jaar, Ariella
Azoulay, John Lucaites, Robert Hariman,
and Susan Meiselas, to offer close readings
of images that reveal the realities behind the
photographs, the subjects and the photographers. From the massacre of the Sioux
Indians at Wounded Knee to the torture of
prisoners at Abu Ghraib, from famine in China
to apartheid in South Africa, Picturing Atrocity
examines a broad spectrum of photographs.
Each essay focuses specifically on an iconic
image, offering a distinct approach and
context, in order to enable us to look again
– this time more closely – at the picture. In
addition, four photo-essays showcase the work
of photographers involved in the making of
photographs of brutality as well as the artists’
own reflections on these images.
Together these essays cover the historical
and geographical range of atrocity photographs and respond to current concerns about
such disturbing images. Picturing Atrocity is
an important read, not just for insights into
photography, but for its reflections on human
injustice and suffering. In keeping with
that aim, all royalties from the book will
be donated to Amnesty International.
geoffrey batchen is a photography
historian and Professor of Art History
at Victoria University of Wellington,
New Zealand.
mick gidley is Emeritus Professor
of American Literature and Culture at
the University of Leeds and author of
Photography and the usa (Reaktion, 2011).
nancy k. miller is Distinguished Professor
of English and Comparative Literature at the
Graduate Center, cuny, New York.
jay prosser is Reader in Humanities in the
School of English at the University of Leeds.
November 2011
Paperback
73 illustrations, 15 in colour
978 1 86189 872 2
Photography
234 × 168 mm
256 pp
£20
3
Between Sense and
de Kooning
RICHARD SHIFF
4
‘Order to me is to be ordered about’, Willem
de Kooning once said. Between Sense and de
Kooning brings focus to how the artist worked
and thought. The book respects de Kooning’s
idea that art is not about progress or development, but is more of a sensory phenomenon.
Richard Shiff discusses de Kooning’s use
of materials and his technical experimentation.
He pays special attention to ‘sense’ in relation
to the artist’s work, and how it refers both
to sensation or feeling as well as direction
or reason: de Kooning had a fascination with
liquids – water, oil and emulsions, and the
liquid quality associated with stretching or
spreading. Shiff also examines the artist’s
painting processes, and the directions they
took, highlighting his tendency to transfer
images, even actual paint, from one work
to another.
De Kooning observed the most commonplace things and people in ordinary actions
(such as his famous Women) but, as Shiff
argues, in doing so he created an exotica of
the mundane. Shiff analyses the large number
of drawings done from life or from memories
of things observed in life, and the drawings
done while watching television during the
1960s. Many of these works have not been published before and have rarely been discussed.
Between Sense and de Kooning addresses
interpretive problems that have complicated
much of the writing about this artist. With
detailed analysis of specific works throughout
de Kooning’s career, it will appeal to art his torians and to anyone curious to understand
how such an independent and pictorially
daring figure gained lasting recognition.
richard shiff is Professor of Art History
at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the
author of many art catalogue essays and the
books Cézanne and the End of Impressionism
(1984) and Barnett Newman: A Catalogue
Raisonné (2004).
Publication of Between Sense and de Kooning
coincides with a major retrospective on the
artist that opens at the Museum of Modern
Art in New York on 18 September 2011. Over
200 works – paintings, sculptures, drawings
and prints – drawn from public and private
collections will provide a unique opportunity
to follow de Kooning’s artistic development
from his early academic works through to
his late abstract paintings of the 1980s.
September 2011
Hardback
115 illustrations, 100 in colour
978 1 86189 853 1
Art
280 × 210 mm
256 pp
£35
Artists’ Postcards
A Compendium
JEREMY COOPER
Over the last twenty years an increasing
number of artists have turned to expressing
themselves through postcards. Whether by
way of installation, collage, addition to or
alteration of existing postcards, or the production of postcards themselves, many artists
employ the medium in some form, including
Rachel Whiteread, whose postcard pieces
were exhibited at Tate Modern in 2010;
Ellsworth Kelly, with his colour collage
explorations; Francis Alÿs, whose postcards
often remain the principal public record of
his work; and Gilbert and George, who have
made over a thousand postcard works.
In this book Jeremy Cooper traces the
origin of artists’ fascination with postcards
from the 1900s to the present, revealing the
artists who made artworks in postcard form
including the Surrealists and later many
conceptual artists, as well as the Fluxus group.
The book includes an array of historical and
contemporary postcards from Cooper’s own
collection by artists such as David Hockney,
Richard Hamilton, Susan Hiller, Joseph Beuys,
Ben Vautier, Dieter Roth, Claes Oldenburg,
Andy Warhol, Ray Johnson, Gordon MattaClark, Tacita Dean and Martin Parr. Some of
these artists were participants in ‘Mail Art’;
others manipulated or made collages out of
postcards; and some printed or painted their
own postcard concepts.
Artists’ Postcards will inform and delight
anyone with a general interest in the arts, as
well as dedicated artists, postcard collectors,
graphic designers, and all those interested
in the historical background to a previously
unexplored subject.
jeremy cooper is a writer, journalist and
broadcaster who has written and published
widely on art and antiques. He has appeared
regularly on the bbc’s Antiques Roadshow,
was co-presenter of bbc Radio 4’s The Week’s
Antiques, and is the author of four novels.
October 2011
Hardback
450 illustrations, 380 in colour
978 1 86189 852 4
Art
280 × 225 mm
304 pp
£35
5
Art Forgery
The History of a Modern Obsession
THIERRY LENAIN
The obsession with art forgery appears to be
a relatively recent phenomenon. In Art Forgery,
the author’s aim is not to suggest new methods
of detection, but rather to look at the genealogy
of faking and to interrogate the anxious, sometimes neurotic reactions triggered in the
modern world of art by these clever frauds.
Thierry Lenain considers the idea of
authenticity in the Middle Ages, when the
issue of false relics and miracles often arose:
if a relic gave rise to a cult, it would be considered genuine even if it had evidently been
‘forged’. Similarly, the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries were comparatively
untroubled by the idea of forgery.
In the Renaissance, forgery was initially
hailed as a true artistic feat. Michelangelo
used to make deceitful copies of drawings
by other masters, which he managed to have
lent to himself by unsuspecting collectors,
only to keep the originals and return the
copies in their place.
As Lenain shows, authenticity is a modern
concept. Modern scientific attribution that
makes use of archaeology, graphology, medical
science and criminology has made the detection
of forgery increasingly possible. This book
leads us through these developments as well
as the work of master forgers, including Eric
Hebborn, Tom Keating and Han van Meegeren,
whose productions baffled the art world.
Ultimately, Lenain argues that the science
of accurately deciphering an individual artist’s
unique characteristics has reached a level of
forensic sophistication matched only by the
forger’s skill and the art world’s paranoia.
6
thierry lenain is Professor of Art Theory
at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium,
and the author of Monkey Painting
(Reaktion, 1997).
October 2011
Hardback
55 illustrations
978 1 86189 850 0
Art
234 × 156 mm
384 pp
£35
Art Theft
and the Case of the Stolen Turners
SANDY NAIRNE
The theft of high-profile works of art is not new,
and recurs on a fairly regular basis. In 1994
two important paintings by J.M.W. Turner
(then valued at £24 million) were stolen from
a German public gallery while on loan from the
Tate collection in London. Sandy Nairne (then
at Tate) became centrally involved in the
pursuit of the pictures, and the negotiation
for their return. In Art Theft and the Case of
the Stolen Turners he relates for the first time
this complex cloak-and-dagger story, which
finally concluded with the pictures going back
on public display in 2003.
In addition to this story, Nairne discusses
other high-value art thefts, trying to resolve
the puzzle of why thieves steal well-known
works of art that cannot be sold, even on the
black market. He focuses on the theft and
recovery of works of art, acknowledging that
they form part of a much broader field of
theft, looting and illicit dealings with art and
antiquities around the world. How different
concepts of value can be understood is debated
in this book as Nairne examines episodes
of art theft, questions of motivation and
surrounding ethical issues. How art theft
plays a part in fiction is also considered,
including the construction of the image
of the art thief, the specialist detective
and the mysterious figure of the hidden,
criminal collector.
Eight and a half years of pursuing the
missing Turners, and a further period of
research and interviews with key players
in the drama, have fed into this vivid,
personal account of a hidden art world.
Art Theft and the Case of the Stolen Turners
is a compelling, real-life detective story
that will keep both art and mystery lovers
eagerly turning pages.
sandy nairne is Director of the National
Portrait Gallery, London. He was previously
Director of Programmes at Tate, Director of
Visual Arts for the Arts Council of Great
Britain and Director of Exhibitions at the
ica, London. He has worked as a curator
and writer.
August 2011
Hardback
18 illustrations
978 1 86189 851 7
Art
216 × 138 mm
224 pp
£20
7
British Comics
A Cultural History
JAMES CHAPMAN
8
We are all nostalgic about comics. Many of us
continue to sneak peeks at comic magazines;
some of us even collect them. This book
reveals how these cherished childhood
magazines have been such an important
part of our lives.
British Comics is a unique cultural history
of British comic papers and magazines, from
their origins in the late nineteenth century
to the present day. Beginning with the first
British comic ‘superstar’, Ally Sloper – ‘A
Selection, Side-splitting, Sentimental, and
Serious, for the Benefit of Old Boys, Young
Boys, Odd Boys generally, and even Girls’ –
author James Chapman goes on to describe
the heyday of comics in the 1950s and ’60s,
when titles such as School Friend and Eagle
sold a million copies a week. Chapman charts
the development of a new breed of violent
comics in the 1970s, including the controversial
Action and 2000ad, and the appearance in
the 1980s and ’90s of adult-oriented comics
such as Warrior, Crisis, Deadline and Revolver,
and alternative comics such as Viz. He also
considers the work of important contemporary comic writers including Alan Moore,
Grant Morrison, Ian Edginton, Warren Ellis
and Garth Ennis.
British Comics explains what we’ve thought
of our comics in the past while also mapping
the changing structure of the comic publishing
industry and showing how publishers, writers
and artists have responded to readers’ tastes.
Ultimately, Chapman argues that British
comics are a distinctive kind of publishing
that is different from – and certainly not
inferior to – American, French and Japanese
comics. An invaluable reference for all comics
collectors and fans in Britain and beyond,
British Comics showcases the major role that
they have played in the imaginative lives of
British boys, girls and teenagers – and some
grown-ups.
james chapman is Professor of Film Studies
at the University of Leicester and the author
of War and Film (Reaktion, 2008) and
Cinemas of the World (Reaktion, 2003).
October 2011
Hardback
70 illustrations
978 1 86189 855 5
Graphic Novels
234 × 156 mm
320 pp
£25
OBJEKT
Railway
GEORGE REVILL
In the nineteenth century railways were a
symbol of progress and confidence in technological modernity. Today, the looming prospect
of traffic gridlock and human-induced climate
change has once again transformed the railway
into a symbol of hope for an environmentally
sustainable future. This book charts the
defining moments in railway history and
shows us why railways continue to inspire
our fascination.
Author George Revill examines the technological systems and nation-building in railway
history, as well as themes such as mobility
and identity, design and marketing, ecology,
heritage and sustainability. Drawing from art,
literature, music and film, he focuses on how
the railway carries meaning for all of us, how
it creates connections and separations, senses
of loss, belonging, detachment and involvement. He looks at the routine journeys of the
commuter as well as the fascinations of the
enthusiast, and shows us how the cultural
meanings of railways continue to play a role
in how people organize and respond to
modern environments, social problems and
technologies. Ultimately, he sees railways
as central to our understanding of modern
everyday life.
A wide-ranging and well-illustrated look
at railways across the globe and their meanings
for all of us, Railway will inform and delight
railway enthusiasts everywhere.
george revill is Senior Lecturer in
Geography at the Open University. He is
co-editor of Pathologies of Travel (1999) and
Representing the Environment (2004).
November 2011
Paperback
Design/Transport
208 × 156 mm
100 illustrations, 30 in colour
304 pp
978 1 86189 874 6
£16.95
9
EDIBLE
Champagne
A Global History
BECKY SUE EPSTEIN
becky sue epstein is a food journalist and
broadcaster. She is co-author of The American
Lighthouse Cookbook (2009).
September 2011
Hardback
62 illustrations, 47 in colour
978 1 86189 857 9
Food and Drink
197 × 120 mm
136 pp
From the smash of a bottle on the side of
a new ship to the pop of the cork at a party,
champagne signals celebration, fun and
camaraderie. Becky Sue Epstein reveals its
history and tells the stories of the celebrities
who made champagnes and sparkling wines
famous early on and continue to do so today –
from Dom Pérignon to Veuve Clicquot. Starting
with the story of the world’s first sparkling
wine, she takes us on a tour of vineyards of
wine regions around the world and teaches
us the correct techniques for storing and
serving champagne and sparkling wine.
Champagne is an invaluable complement
to a glass of bubbly as well as an informative,
elegant gift for all wine lovers.
£9.99
Apple
A Global History
ERIKA JANIK
erika janik is a Producer for Wisconsin
Public Radio.
September 2011
Hardback
54 illustrations, 36 in colour
10
978 1 86189 848 7
Food and Drink
197 × 120 mm
136 pp
£9.99
Gravenstein, Coe’s Golden Drop, Mendocino
Cox: the names sound like something from
Tolkien. But as befits their magical appellations
apples have transfixed and beguiled humans for
thousands of years.
Erika Janik explores the importance of a fruit,
born in the mountains of Kazakhstan, which has
became a favourite almost everywhere. Apples
also make for good drinking, and Janik relates
the history of cider in America and Europe. From
the Garden of Eden to Johnny Appleseed and the
Apple computer, readers will learn how apples
became a universal source of sustenance, health
and symbolism from ancient times to the present.
Food and history lovers will devour this
surprising history of one of the world’s most
loved and prolific fruits.
EDIBLE
Bread
A Global History
WILLIAM RUBEL
Bread is basic, essential and universal and this
book is an innovative mix of history, culture,
travelogue and cookbook. William Rubel begins
with the probable invention of bread in the
Fertile Crescent approximately 20,000 years
ago and ends by speculating on the ways in
which cultural forces and advances in biotechnology may influence the development of
bread in the twenty-first century. Along the
way, he provides an analysis of the different
components of bread plus excellent recipes
and a glossary of one hundred breads around
the world.
For baking enthusiasts as well as general
readers, Bread will inform, inspire and make
us look at bread in new ways.
william rubel is a food historian and
author of The Magic of Fire: One Hundred
Recipes for Fireplace and Campfire (2002).
September 2011
Hardback
Food and Drink
197 × 120 mm
60 illustrations, 30 in colour
224 pp
978 1 86189 854 8
£10.99
Olive
A Global History
FABRIZIA LANZA
This original, succinct and engaging history
traces the olive’s roots from antiquity, when
olive oil was most exalted for ritual purposes;
to the sixteenth century, when Europeans
brought the olive to the New World; to the
present day, when the fruit has successfully
conquered our palate, in part thanks to waves
of immigration and the popularity of the
healthy Mediterranean diet. A global selection
of recipes featuring olives and olive oil showcases the fruit’s culinary diversity. A concise
appendix of popular olive varieties, organized by
country, is another helpful feature of this book.
Featuring a wealth of historical detail and
delicious recipes for foodies and the healthconscious alike, this book will be a popular
addition to all food lovers’ bookshelves.
fabrizia lanza is a food journalist for
Repubblica and owner of the Anna Tasca
Lanza Sicilian Cooking School, Sicily.
September 2011
Hardback
48 illustrations, 41 in colour
978 1 86189 868 5
Food and Drink
197 × 120 mm
128 pp
£9.99
11
ANIMAL
Trout
JAMES OWEN
james owen is a journalist and writer who
(when he is not fishing for trout) is based in
Stockholm, Sweden.
October 2011
Paperback
100 illustrations, 60 in colour
978 1 86189 877 7
Natural History
190 × 135 mm
224 pp
£9.99
Leaping effortlessly from the bright stream
into the human mind, the trout captivates like
no other fish. Taking myriad forms, the fish
has a vitality and physical beauty many find
irresistible, and it also brings to mind pure
waters and wild places. These are the undercurrents to James Owen’s biography of the
trout, which also showcases the animal as
sacred, table and farmed fish, a fish of
scientific investigation, of colonial conquest
and middle-class aspiration, and a symbol
in Western countries of our conflicted
relationship with nature.
Trout will delight and surprise anglers
who have ever cast a fly to it, or anyone
who has ever stopped to look in the water
from a bridge, hoping for a tantalizing
glimpse of this very special fish.
Sparrow
KIM TODD
kim todd is Assistant Professor of English
and Creative Writing at Penn State Erie,
The Behrend College, and the author of
Tinkering with Eden? A Natural History
of Exotics in America (2001).
October 2011
Paperback
100 illustrations, 60 in colour
12
978 1 86189 875 3
Natural History
190 × 135 mm
224 pp
£9.99
Sparrows are everywhere, in many guises,
from cherished pets to urban vermin. In
many countries they are appallingly successful
non-natives, attacking indigenous birds and
ravaging ecosystems. Able to live in the Arctic
and the desert, from Beijing to San Francisco,
the house sparrow is the most widespread
wild bird in the world.
In Sparrow, award-winning science and
natural history writer Kim Todd explores the
complex history, biology and literary tradition
of this bird that embodies the word ‘common’.
She examines the ways in which sparrows
have taught us about evolution, and the recent
decline of house sparrows in cities globally.
Colourfully illustrated, this is the first
book-length exploration of the natural and
cultural history of this bird, equally beloved,
reviled and ubiquitous.
ANIMAL
Wolf
GARRY MARVIN
Feared and revered, the wolf has always evoked
powerful emotions in humans.
Garry Marvin shows how the ways in which
wolves are imagined have had far-reaching
implications for how they are treated. Fear of
this enigmatic creature led to an attempt to
eradicate it as a species. But with the development of scientific understanding of wolves
and their place in ecological systems and
the growth of popular environmentalism, the
wolf has been re-thought and re-imagined. Still
reviled by some, the wolf now has new supporters who regard it as a charismatic creature of
the newly valued wild and wilderness.
Synthesizing a huge range of scientific,
natural and cultural history, Wolf offers
valuable insights into our changing attitudes
to this animal.
garry marvin is Professor of Human–
Animal Studies at Roehampton University
and co-author of Killing Animals (2006).
October 2011
Paperback
100 illustrations, 60 in colour
978 1 86189 879 1
Natural History
190 × 135 mm
224 pp
£9.99
Chicken
ANNIE POTTS
No creature has been subject to such extremes
of reverence and exploitation as the chicken,
yet today most of us have nothing to do with
chickens as living beings, although millions
are consumed around the world every year.
From the evolution of jungle fowl to the
domestication of chickens by humans, Annie
Potts describes the place of chickens in the
world today, and includes a tribute to those
who educate and advocate on behalf of these
birds. She informs us about the ways in which
chickens experience the world, and explores
practices such as egg-rolling, the cockfight,
wishbone-pulling and chicken-swinging rituals.
A wealth of intriguing facts and ideas, this
book will fascinate those already familiar with
the Gallus species and open up a whole new
world for admirers of this fascinating bird.
annie potts is Associate Professor and
Co-Director of the New Zealand Centre
for Human–Animal Studies, University
of Canterbury, Christchurch.
October 2011
Paperback
100 illustrations, 60 in colour
978 1 86189 858 6
Natural History
190 × 135 mm
224 pp
£9.99
13
CRITICAL LIVES
Mahatma Gandhi
DOUGLAS ALLEN
Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most
admired and controversial figures of the
twentieth century, and he remains so today.
In this book leading Gandhi scholar Douglas
Allen presents a new, challenging approach
to understanding Gandhi’s life, the contexts
within which he lived and shaped history,
and how his philosophy and practices
can be reformulated in ways that are
significant today.
Mahatma Gandhi explores the historical
and cultural significance of Gandhi’s extraordinary life and analyses his continuing
relevance in addressing key issues of truth,
ethics, violence and non-violence, war and
peace, equality and freedom, different forms
of exploitation and oppression, religion and
religious conflict and dialogue, and environmental crises.
Douglas Allen provides an urgently needed
new perspective on Gandhi that allows us
to rethink our basic values and priorities.
By understanding Gandhi’s life and message,
he creates a new paradigm for evaluating
truth, non-violence, peace and morality, and
offers new criteria for assessing our modern
approach to standards of living, development,
evolutionary progress, happiness and meaningful human existence.
Mahatma Gandhi will appeal to general
readers and those interested in philosophy,
religion, political science, history and
peace studies.
douglas allen is Professor of Philosophy
at the University of Maine, Orono. He is the
author of numerous studies on Gandhi.
October 2011
Paperback
14
Biography
200 × 130 mm
25 illustrations
224 pp
978 1 86189 865 4
£10.95
CRITICAL LIVES
Ezra Pound
ALEC MARSH
Pound’s co-poet Basil Bunting wrote of The
Cantos: ‘There are the Alps, / fools! Sit down
and wait for them to crumble!’ Ezra Pound
tells the story of the most controversial poet of
the twentieth century. Great poet, Confucian,
peace activist, alleged fascist, indicted traitor,
Ezra Pound’s life raises vital questions for
anyone interested in politics, art and poetry.
Probably no writer promoted so many great
writers as Pound – James Joyce, T. S. Eliot and
Ford Madox Ford among them – and without
Pound’s generosity to colleagues, literary
modernism arguably might not have
happened. Yet by 1925 Pound was living in
obscurity in Italy, having trouble publishing
his work. There he became a Mussolini
enthusiast and a believer in a malevolent
Jewish/Communist conspiracy. As the global
economic crisis worsened through the 1930s
Pound used The Cantos, his monumental
poem, to historicize the causes of the world
crisis and to suggest a cure, agitating obsessively for a ‘new economics’ to prevent another
World War. Indicted for treason by the us,
after the war Pound was judged incompetent
to stand trial and remanded to a mental hospital
where he remained until 1958.
What happened? How could such a great
modern artist hold apparently reactionary
views? Was he a traitor? Was he insane? Alec
Marsh addresses these crucial questions as he
probes the relation between poetry and politics.
Analysing Pound’s prose and poetry as well
as his magnum opus, The Cantos, Marsh
provides clear insights into Pound’s work as
well as a coherent account of his life. Essential
reading for students of twentieth-century
poetry as well as those who are intrigued by
Pound but know little about his work.
alec marsh is Professor of English at
Muhlenberg College, Pennsylvania. He has
written extensively on Pound, is the author
of Money and Modernity: Pound, Williams
and the Spirit of Jefferson, and is President
of the Ezra Pound Society.
September 2011
Paperback
Biography
200 × 130 mm
20 illustrations
224 pp
978 1 86189 862 3
£10.95
15
CRITICAL LIVES
Coco Chanel
LINDA SIMON
To call Coco Chanel a fashion designer
hardly captures her cultural significance.
An iconoclastic entrepreneur, she rebelled
against and manipulated gender expectations
of her time. With her famous little black
dress, her loose jersey sweaters and her svelte,
unadorned gowns, Chanel changed women’s
silhouettes, and became known as a champion
of women’s freedom. Chanel, legend has it,
changed not only the shape of clothing, but the
narrative of women’s lives. From 1913, when
she first opened a hat shop in the resort
town of Deauville, until her death in 1971,
Chanel sold more than clothing, accessories
and Chanel No. 5: she sold a myth that
became as attractive for many women as
her coveted outfits.
Linda Simon teases apart the myth that
Chanel and her public collaborated to create,
to explore its contradictions: a self-proclaimed
recluse who emerged as one of the most
spectacular personalities of her time; a brilliant
businesswoman who signed away 90 per cent
of her company; a genius who claimed she
was nothing more than an artisan. She
examines the world Chanel both reflected and
shaped, setting her life and work in a broad
context of women’s history in France and
America, from before the First World War
up through the profound social changes of
the late 1960s.
Drawing upon rich archival sources, Simon
provides a lively, clear-eyed biography of a
woman whose influence and legend transcend
the world of fashion.
16
linda simon is Professor of English
at Skidmore College, New York, and
author of Genuine Reality: A Life of
William James (1998).
August 2011
Paperback
Biography/Fashion
200 × 130 mm
40 illustrations
224 pp
978 1 86189 859 3
£10.95
CRITICAL LIVES
Derek Jarman
MICHAEL CHARLESWORTH
Derek Jarman (1942–1994) is often
remembered as one of Europe’s most
innovative independent film-makers, but he
was also a painter, writer and poet, gardener,
set designer for other people’s films, ballet,
opera and theatre, and an influential
campaigner for gay rights and other causes.
He was the author of an extraordinary series
of journals that offer insight not only into the
nature of the society in which he lived but also
into his own creative process. It is remarkable
that his art was not confined to one or two of
these activities but embraced all of them.
This new biography of Jarman discusses
the entire range of his works and provides a
picture of the whole man, from childhood to
his untimely death in 1994. For the first time
his paintings and writings are properly integrated with his films, demonstrating the strong
connections between his varied areas of artistic
production. Michael Charlesworth employs
and assesses film criticism, art history, garden
and nature writing, critical analysis of poetry
and the personal opinions of Jarman and
his friends. He also shows how Jarman was an
invaluable voice for a larger range of people:
one who espoused love, friendship and art;
one who fearlessly pushed forward intellectual virtues and the value of art in an often
hostile and unappreciative political and
social atmosphere.
Fresh in its conclusions, engaging in style,
Derek Jarman is accessible, thought-provoking
and radical in its arguments and its tracing of
the patterns of Jarman’s phenomenal creativity.
An invaluable complement to Jarman’s works,
this book will interest all Jarman fans.
michael charlesworth is Associate
Professor of Art History at the University
of Texas at Austin, and author of Landscape and Vision in Nineteenth Century
Britain and France (2008).
October 2011
Paperback
Biography
200 × 130 mm
30 illustrations
224 pp
978 1 86189 860 9
£10.95
17
Eradication
Ridding the World of Disease
NANCY LEYS STEPAN
18
In 2007 Bill and Melinda Gates surprised the
world with the announcement that they were
committing their Foundation to eradicating
malaria. This book places their ambitious
and noble goal in its broad historical and
contemporary context, offering the first
comprehensive account of disease eradication from the early twentieth century to
the present.
The dream of a world completely free of
disease may seem utopian. Yet eradication,
used in its modern sense to mean the reduction
of the number of cases of a disease to zero by
means of purposeful public health interventions, has been pursued repeatedly. Campaigns
against yellow fever, malaria, smallpox and
polio are among the largest, most costly programmes ever undertaken in international
public health. Only one so far has been successful – against smallpox in 1980. Are such
programmes, then, worthwhile?
This book surveys the history of eradication,
covering all the major campaigns and bringing
the story up to date. It bases its narrative on
the life and times of an arch-eradicationist, Dr
Fred Lowe Soper (1893–1977), who was at the
centre of all the campaigns and controversies
surrounding eradication in his lifetime.
Eradication is, of course, only one approach
to improving people’s health. Debates between
proponents of Primary Health Care approaches
to ill-health versus the eradicationists’ approach
have often been intense. Nancy Leys Stepan,
known for her authoritative books in the
history of medicine, suggests that today
the two approaches may be complementary,
rather than incompatible.
Eradication is aimed at the general reader
interested in the urgent problems of health
and disease around the world, as well as
specialists in the field.
nancy leys stepan is Professor of History
at Columbia University, New York, and the
author of The Hour of Eugenics: Race, Gender
and Nation (1991) and Picturing Tropical
Nature (Reaktion 2002).
August 2011
Hardback
7 illustrations
978 1 86189 861 6
Popular Science
220 × 150 mm
256 pp
£25
A Philosophy of Sport
STEVEN CONNOR
While previous writing on the philosophy of
sport has tended to see sport as a kind of testing
ground for philosophical theories devised to
deal with other kinds of problems – of ethics,
aesthetics or logical categorization – here
Steven Connor offers a new philosophical
understanding of sport in its own terms. In
order to define what sport essentially is and
means, Connor presents a complete grammar
of sport, isolating and describing its essential
elements, including the characteristic spaces
of sport, the nature of sporting time, the
importance of sporting objects like bats and
balls, the methods of movement in sport, the
role of rules and chance, and what it really
means to cheat and to win.
Defined as games that involve bodily
exertion and exhaustion, sports simultaneously require constraint and the ability
to overcome it. Sport, argues Connor, is a
fundamental feature of modern humans. It
is shown to be one of the most powerful ways
in which we negotiate the relationship between
the human and natural worlds. Encompassing
a huge range of different sports, and enlisting
the help of Hegel, Freud, Wittgenstein,
Heidegger, Adorno, Sartre, Ayer, Deleuze
and Serres, A Philosophy of Sport will inform,
surprise and delight thoughtful athletes and
sporty philosophers alike.
steven connor is Professor of Modern
Literature and Theory in the School of
Literature and Humanities at Birkbeck,
University of London. Other works by
Connor include The Book of Skin, Fly and
The Matter of Air, all published by Reaktion.
October 2011
Paperback
Sport/Philosophy
216 × 138 mm
256 pp
978 1 86189 869 2
£17
19
EXPOSURES
20
Photography and Archaeology
FREDERICK N. BOHRER
Photographs preserve the past, while archaeology unearths what has been preserved. Put
together, photography and archaeology bring
the past into the present, making its image
available for a wide audience. In Photography
and Archaeology, Frederick Bohrer examines
some of history’s most famous archaeological
excavations, as well as lesser-known and
previously unpublished finds, from the
Mediterranean, Middle East, Asia, Europe
and the Americas, and the ways these sites
have been represented in photographs. He
shows how the development of photography in
the nineteenth century brought archaeology to
the attention of the public, and discusses how
these images revealed the material traces of the
past, as well as their meaning and use today.
Uniting the dual histories of both
photography and archaeology, the book
reveals how what we know of the archaeo logical past has always been related to how
it has been photographically represented
and circulated. It also fundamentally alters
the archaeological object, transforming it into
a work of art. Along the way, Bohrer discusses
examples and images by photographers including Maxime Du Camp, Francis Frith, John
Beasley Greene, Ernst Herzfeld and others,
as well as more contemporary photographers
such as Aaron Levin, Roger Wood and Marilyn
Bridges.
Beautifully illustrated, Photography and
Archaeology will interest archaeologists, art
historians and photographers, as well as
anyone concerned with, or captivated by,
archaeology’s ongoing engagement with
the past.
frederick n. bohrer is Professor of Art
at Hood College, Maryland, and author of
Orientalism and Visual Culture: Imagining
Mesopotamia in Nineteenth-century Europe
(2003).
November 2011
Paperback with flaps
Photography
220 × 190 mm
100 illustrations, 50 in colour
192 pp
978 1 86189 870 8
£17.95
EXPOSURES
Photography and Ireland
JUSTIN CARVILLE
Photography has been part of Irish cultural
life since 1839 but little is known of its long
and sometimes complex history. Outside
Ireland little attention has been given to
Irish photography beyond tourist views of
the Irish landscape and photojournalistic
representations of ‘The Troubles’. This book
changes the picture, casting its focus between
these polar extremes to address the political
upheavals, social transformation and geographical re-imaginings of Ireland as a colony,
a nation, a province and a sovereign state.
As Justin Carville demonstrates, photography has not only documented these transformations but has also helped shape how
Ireland is viewed, both by itself and the rest
of the world. Photography and Ireland explores
the role of the photographic image in colonial
and post-colonial visual cultures of Ireland
from the nineteenth century to the present
day. Furthermore, it emphasizes the transnational dimensions of photography in
Ireland, discussing foreign photographers
who have contributed to cultural imaginings
of Ireland as well as indigenous Irish photog raphers. Featuring commercial portraits and
landscapes, as well as ethnographic photography, photojournalism and documentary
works, the book explores Ireland’s photography through a number of interrelated
themes.
Accessibly written and accompanied by
a wealth of images, Photography and Ireland
is essential reading for all those interested in
photography history, as well as Irish history
and culture.
justin carville is a lecturer in the history
and theory of photography at the Institute of
Art, Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire,
Ireland.
November 2011
Paperback with flaps
Photography
220 × 190 mm
100 illustrations, 45 in colour
192 pp
978 1 86189 871 5
£17.95
21
Animal Encounters
Human and Animal Interaction in
Britain from the Norman Conquest
to World War I
ARTHUR MACGREGOR
Until the advent of steam and later the internal
combustion engine, the fortunes of man and
beast were intimately and essentially bound
together. Animals played a variety of fundamental roles in a range of human work and
leisure activities such as transport, agriculture,
industry, warfare, sport and recreation. Their
importance to human progress has become
increasingly hard to grasp for our largely
urbanized society, from which the animal
world has become ever more remote.
Animal Encounters draws on the author’s
lifetime interest in the fields of art history,
topographical literature, archaeology, history
and archaeozoology to provide an overview of
the evolving relations between the human and
animal populations of the British Isles from
the eleventh century to the early twentieth.
In a very readable, instructive and
well-illustrated narrative, Arthur MacGregor
explores the animal kingdom from bees to
horses, and the range of human activities, from
pigeon-breeding to bear-baiting, showing how
interdependent the animal–human relationship has been throughout history. Animal
Encounters will have a broad appeal, aimed
at all those with sympathy for and an interest
in the animal world.
arthur macgregor is a former archaeologist and was Senior Curator at the
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. He is the
author of Bone, Antler Ivory and Horn (1985)
and Curiosity and Enlightenment: Collectors
and Collections from the Sixteenth to the
Nineteenth Century (2007).
November 2011
Hardback
190 illustrations, 40 in colour
22
978 1 86189 849 4
History
250 × 190 mm
512 pp
£40
A World of Gardens
JOHN DIXON HUNT
A Japanese garden is immediately distinct
to the eye from the traditional gardens of an
English manor house, just as the manicured
topiaries of Versailles contrast with the sharp
cacti of the American Southwest. Though
garden design is beloved the world over, the
style of gardens themselves varies from region
to region, determined as much by culture as
climate. In this series of illustrated essays,
John Dixon Hunt takes us on a world tour of
different periods in the making of gardens.
Hunt shows here how cultural assumptions
and local geography have shaped gardens and
their meaning. He explores our continuing
responses to land and reworkings of the
natural world, and encompasses a broad
range of gardens, from ancient Roman times
to early Islamic and Mughal eras, from
Venetian gardens to Chinese and Japanese
examples, as well as the invention of the
public park and modern landscape architecture. A World of Gardens looks at key chapters
in garden history, reviewing their significance
past and present and tracing the recurrence of
different themes and motifs in the design and
reception of gardens throughout the world.
A World of Gardens celebrates the idea that
similar experiences of gardens can be found
in many different times and places, including
sacred landscapes, scientific gardens, urban
gardens, secluded gardens, and symbolic
gardens. Well illustrated and wide-ranging,
this book is a treasure trove of ideas and
inspiration.
john dixon hunt is Emeritus Professor of
the History and Theory of Landscape at the
University of Pennsylvania. He is editor of
the journal Studies in the History of Gardens
and Designed Landscapes, and the author of
many books, among which are The Afterlife
of Gardens (2004) and Nature Over Again:
The Garden Art of Ian Hamilton Finlay (2008),
both published by Reaktion.
October 2011
Hardback
200 illustrations, 70 in colour
978 1 86189 880 7
Gardening
250 × 190 mm
384 pp
£29
23
Ruins in Chinese Art
and Visual Culture
From Ancient Times to the Present
WU HUNG
In Ruins in Chinese Art and Visual Culture,
Wu Hung addresses the previously unexplored
idea of the ‘ruin’ in Chinese culture and how
representations of ruins have evolved. The
oldest concepts of ruins are ‘xu’, denoting
emptiness or memory site, and ‘ji’, signifying
a trace or footprint.
Wu Hung charts the historical changes
in the conception of ruins in Chinese culture,
observing the manifestations of ruins in
various visual forms. He defines a series of
conceptual modes in ‘ruin’ representations
in Chinese culture, and highlights the crucial
changes in such representations during the
modern period. He questions why it is that
ruins are such an integral element of traditional Chinese culture in both architectural
and pictorial forms, and yet very little visual
evidence can be found from pre-modern
China in traditional paintings or in actual
preserved structures.
Drawing from traditional and contemporary art sources including painting, decorative
art, rubbings, architecture and photography
as well as literary sources, this book covers a
broad chronological span stretching from
ancient China to the present.
wu hung is Harrie A. Vanderstappen
Distinguished Service Professor in Chinese
Art History at the University of Chicago.
He is the author of many books, including
The Double Screen: Medium and Representation
in Chinese Painting (Reaktion, 1996), Remaking
Beijing: Tiananmen Square and the Creation
of a Political Space (Reaktion, 2005) and
The Art of the Yellow Springs: Understanding
Chinese Tombs (Reaktion, 2010).
November 2011
Hardback
240 illustrations, 50 in colour
24
978 1 86189 876 0
Art
250 × 190 mm
256 pp
£40
Modern Architectures in History
DIANE YVONNE GHIRARDO
In her fascinating account of modern architecture, Diane Ghirardo provides valuable
insights into Italian architectural culture.
While she describes major modernist works,
including famous projects from Rome, Milan
and Florence, she also takes into account
work from smaller towns and rural areas.
She also focuses on the pressing issues of
diane yvonne ghirardo is Professor of Archi- illegal construction and responses to current
ecological challenges, and considers how
tecture at University of Southern California and
modern architecture coexists alongside some
also teaches at the Politecnico di Torino. She
of the most prized architecture and art in the
has published widely on Italian architecture.
world, from antiquity to the Baroque, packed
October 2011
Architecture
into Italy’s dense historic city centres.
Paperback
220 × 171 mm
Essential reading for all those who want to
200 illustrations
256 pp
learn more about Italian modern architecture
978 1 86189 864 7
£16.95
and readers interested in Italian culture.
MODERN ARCHITECTURES IN HISTORY
Italy
Turkey
Modern Architectures in History
SIBEL BOZDOĞAN AND ESRA AKCAN
sibel bozdoğan is Professor of Architecture
at Istanbul Bilgi University and Lecturer in
Architectural History at the Graduate School
of Design, Harvard University.
esra akcan is Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
October 2011
Paperback
Architecture
220 × 171 mm
200 illustrations
272 pp
978 1 86189 878 4
£16.95
From the beginning of the Turkish republic
architects viewed modernism as the most
appropriate expression of its progressive ideals.
Today Turkey is one of the fastest growing
economies in the world. This book explores
architecture’s role in modernizing the nation.
It examines modern institutional masterpieces
and architect-designed buildings through the
decades to the present. Yet it also focuses on
informal residences and shows how these have
evolved from small settlements to colossal
urban quarters that exist at a slippery threshold
between legality and illegality.
A richly informative history of Turkey’s
built environment by a leading historian
of the field, Sibel Bozdoğan, and critic Esra
Akcan, this book will inform architects as
well as general readers interested in Turkey.
25
GLOBALITITES
26
The Mongol Conquest
in World History
TIMOTHY MAY
The Mongol Empire (c. 1200–1350) in many
ways marks the beginning of the modern age
as well as globalization. While communications
between the extremes of Eurasia existed prior
to the Mongols, they were infrequent and
often through intermediaries. The rise of the
Mongol Empire changed everything: through
their conquests the Mongols swept away dozens
of empires and kingdoms and replaced them
with the largest contiguous empire in history.
While the Mongols were the most destructive force in the pre-modern world, the Pax
Mongolica had stabilizing effects on the social,
cultural and economic life of the inhabitants of
the vast territory, allowing merchants and missionaries to transverse Eurasia. The conquests
also set in motion other changes in warfare,
disease, food, culture and scientific knowledge.
When Mongol power declined, it was replaced
with over a dozen successors who retained
elements of the Mongol Empire, but none
of its unity.
This book examines the many ways
in which the conquests were a catalyst for
change. The memory of the Empire fired the
collective mind into far-reaching endeavours:
the desire for luxury goods and spices that
were once available launched Columbus’s
voyages; the Renaissance was inspired by
the innovations in art that emerged from the
Mongol Empire; China, for the first time in
300 years was unified, and the Islamic world
doubled in size.
This fascinating book offers comprehensive
coverage of the entire empire, rather than
a more regional approach, and provides
a long view of the Mongol Empire’s legacy.
timothy may is Department Head and
Associate Professor of Central Eurasian and
Middle Eastern History at North Georgia
College & State University. He is the author
of The Mongol Art of War: Chinggis Khan and
the Mongol Military System (2007) and Culture
and Customs of Mongolia (2009).
October 2011
Hardback
12 illustrations
978 1 86189 867 8
History
216 × 138 mm
304 pp
£25
JEREMY BLACK
‘An ambitious, innovative and remarkably wideranging survey by a historian of formidable
breadth.’ – bbc History Magazine
NEW IN PAPERBACK
A History of Diplomacy
‘Thought-provoking and usefully targeted to the
questions of today.’ – tls
jeremy black is Professor of History at the
University of Exeter. He is the author of many
books.
July 2011
Paperback
History
234 × 156 mm
312 pp
978 1 86189 831 9
‘[A] spirited defence of traditional diplomacy . . .
a history of the profession, but with an alternative focus, looking at modern diplomacy’s nonWestern traditions and its roots in the medieval
West. It provides fascinating details along the
way about the development of embassies, envoys,
and give-and-take or 19th century statesmanship.
It almost made me want to rejoin the trade –
except in a time capsule.’ – Eamon Delaney,
Irish Times
£15
Manhood
The Rise and Fall of the Penis
MELS VAN DRIEL
‘[A] lighthearted gambol through the uses and
abuses of the penis and its unjustly overlooked
companion organs . . . a marvellous read . . .
Manhood is an eccentric delight’ – The Observer
‘The tidbits of information [van Driel] has
assembled are really rather wonderful’
– Sunday Telegraph
mels van driel is a urologist and sexologist at
the University Medical Center in Groningen, The ‘A stiff assignment . . . [van Driel] marshals
Netherlands. He has written widely for scientific his material firmly and with aplomb. He says in
publications, newspapers and magazines.
his introduction he tried to keep the tone light,
September 2011
Paperback
52 illustrations
978 1 86189 866 1
History/Health
234 × 156 mm
288 pp
£15
and he has succeeded, on the whole, ably assisted
by the fluent translation of Paul Vincent . . .
I learned a huge amount from this book.’
– Literary Review
27
NEW IN PAPERBACK
Art, Word and Image
2,000 Years of Visual/Textual
Interaction
JOHN DIXON HUNT, DAVID LOMAS
AND MICHAEL CORRIS
‘Although commonsense seems to dictate that
visual art is predominantly a visual phenomenon,
when examined closely, as this book does, there
are few areas not touched in some way by the use
of words (or language) . . . [a] comprehensive
survey . . . With its many colour illustrations
and references for further study the book will
be of particular interest to anybody working
with words or language in their art.’ – Arlis
September 2011
Paperback
Art
280 × 210 mm
385 illustrations, 324 in colour
416 pp
978 1 86189 745 9
£24.95
john dixon hunt is Emeritius Professor of
the History and Theory of Landscape at the
University of Pennsylvania.
david lomas is Reader in Art History at
the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures,
University of Manchester.
michael corris is Professor of Art and Chair
of the Division of Art at smu, Dallas, Texas.
In the Shadow of Yalta
Art and the Avant-garde in
Eastern Europe, 1945–1989
PIOTR PIOTROWSKI
piotr piotrowski is Professor ordinarius of
Art History at Adam Mickiewicz University,
Poznań, Poland. He is the author or editor
of many books, including Meanings of
Modernism: Towards a History of Polish
Art after 1945 (1999).
‘Piotrowski’s achievement is to disinter the histories
of various forms of modernism, post-modernism
and the neo-avant-garde that flourished in Eastern
Europe, to disentangle the fruitful misunderstandings on which some of them were based and to
explain the originality that lay behind many of
the apparent inconsistencies . . . Piotrowski writes
clearly and readably, even in translation, and his
groundbreaking study is augmented with numerous
illustrations’ – Burlington Magazine
September 2011
Paperback
224 illustrations
28
978 1 86189 863 0
Art
240 × 168 mm
488 pp
£20
ICE CREAM
A Global History
Laura B. Weiss
197 × 120 mm 176 pp £9.99
55 illus., 32 in colour
hardback 978 1 86189 792 3
POTATO
A Global History
Andrew F. Smith
197 × 120 mm 144 pp £9.99
49 illus., 37 in colour
hardback 978 1 86189 799 2
EDIBLE
EDIBLE
EDIBLE
LOBSTER
Richard J. King
190 × 135 mm 216 pp £9.99
100 illus., 60 in colour
paperback 978 1 86189 795 4
ANIMAL
THE SEA
A Cultural History
John Mack
216 × 138 mm 272 pp £19.95
20 illustrations
hardback 978 1 86189 809 8
THE OCEAN AT HOME
An Illustrated History
of the Aquarium
Bernd Brunner
234 × 140 mm 168 pp £17.95
110 illus., 30 in colour
paperback 978 1 86189 816 6
LENIN
Lars T. Lih
200 × 130 mm 240 pp £10.95
62 illustrations
paperback 978 1 86189 793 0
PHOTOGRAPHY AND DEATH
Audrey Linkman
220 × 190 mm 216 pp £17.95
90 illus., 40 in colour
paperback w/ flaps 978 1 86189 791 6
CRITICAL LIVES
EXPOSURES
JEWISH ART
A Modern History
Samantha Baskind & Larry Silver
250 × 190 mm 312 pp £19.95
145 illus., 60 in colour
paperback 978 1 86189 802 9
RECENT AND RECOMMENDED
LOBSTER
A Global History
Elisabeth Townsend
197 × 120 mm 144 pp £9.99
52 illus., 40 in colour
hardback 978 1 86189 794 7
29
BESTSELLING BACKLIST
A Brief History of Nakedness
PHILIP CARR-GOMM
234 × 156 mm 288 pp
£19.95 hardback
143 illus., 99 in colour
978 1 86189 647 6
‘Carr-Gomm’s lively relish for his subject and the intelligent use of illustration in
this attractively produced book . . . make it an engaging addition to the literature
of the naked human form.’ – Sunday Telegraph, Seven Magazine
Running
A Global History
THOR GOTAAS
216 × 138 mm 384 pp
£19.95 hardback
15 illustrations
978 1 86189 526 4
‘From starting-gun to finishing tape may be a clean ten seconds, but behind that
moment swirl a few thousand years of human joy, despair and endeavour – this
seems to be the argument of Gotaas’s rich and engrossing book.’ – The Spectator
Invented Knowledge
False History, Fake Science and
Pseudo-religions
234 × 156 mm 304 pp
£14.95 paperback
978 1 86189 817 3
RONALD H. FRITZE
‘In Invented Knowledge, Ronald Fritze makes a level-headed and well-researched investigation
into pseudo-knowledge, revealing the tricks used by purveyors of false and sensational ideas.
He also shows how attempts to debunk the myths can add fuel to the fire.’ – New Scientist
Twenty Minutes in Manhattan
MICHAEL SORKIN
216 × 138 mm 216 pp
£16.95 hardback
978 1 86189 428 1
‘In his delightful book, Michael Sorkin writes about New York from a flaneur’s perspective . . . one of architecture’s most consistent and consistently interesting critical voices
. . . Quirky, erudite . . . every city should have its Michael Sorkin.’ – Financial Times
Towards a Philosophy of
Photography
200 × 120 mm 96 pp
£11.95 paperback
978 1 86189 076 4
VILÉM FLUSSER
‘A relatively little-known but significant text.’ – Lindsay Smith, The Year’s Work in Critical
and Cultural Studies
30
DESMOND MORRIS
190 × 135 mm 216 pp
£9.99 paperback
123 illus., 91 in colour
978 1 86189 525 7
ANIMAL
Acclaimed author and broadcaster Desmond Morris describes the evolution, the many
species, and the wide spread of owls around the world. Owls occur in folk-tales, myths
and legends, and Morris explores all these, as well as the many examples of owls in art,
film, literature and popular culture.
Hare
SIMON CARNELL
BESTSELLING BACKLIST
Owl
190 × 135 mm 232 pp
£9.99 paperback
98 illus., 75 in colour
978 1 86189 431 1
ANIMAL
‘[This] delightful pocket-sized book presents the story in an ingenious fashion. Natural
history is blended with beautiful illustrations as the hare’s place in myth, art, religion and
the sporting sphere is delicately interwoven . . .’ – The Field
Travels in the History
of Architecture
ROBERT HARBISON
234 × 140 mm 288 pp
£14.95 paperback
180 illustrations
978 1 86189 818 0
‘On its broadly chronological journey from the Egyptians to Modernists, via Greek,
Roman, Byzantine, Romanesque and Historicist architecture, this book is filled with
acute perceptions and fine descriptions . . . its insights make you want to travel and see.’
– History Today
Chromophobia
DAVID BATCHELOR
210 × 148 mm 128 pp
£12.95 paperback
6 colour illustrations
978 1 86189 074 0
FOCI
‘Full of good writing, good anecdotes, devastating quotes, deft arguments, and just
the sort of mysterious anomalies one would expect from an artist writing about the
enemies of his practice’ – Dave Hickey, Bookforum
Ballets Russes Style
Diaghilev’s Dancers and Paris Fashion
MARY E. DAVIS
200 × 150 mm 256 pp
£17.95 paperback
93 illus., 51 in colour
978 0 97083 757 2
‘The “legendary command” of the Ballets Russes impresario was simply: “Astonish me!”
A century on from its Paris debut, Diaghilev’s dancers continue to do that in this handsome
book . . . conveys the electric excitement from a collection of talents – music by Stravinsky,
sets by Picasso, costumes by Bakst – that has never been equalled.’ – The Independent
31
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TRADE INFORMATION
Welcome to the Reaktion Books Autumn/Winter 2011 catalogue.
reaktion books
new titles • autumn/winter 2011