Based on solid research and clear explanations, this book provides a thorough and up-to-date analysis of ten key facts and fictions regarding the life and workings of William Shakespeare.Shakespeare ...is perhaps the most famous author in world literature. His works have attracted tremendous critical and historical attention, and the world in which he lived has been the subject of hundreds if not thousands of books. But for all the attention given to Shakespeare and his world, arguments continue about what we can say for sure concerning his life and works. This book brings a unique perspective to the ongoing fascination and debate over the life and works of the most renowned writer of all time.The book focuses on ten separate key issues, including Shakespeare's sexuality, his religion, his marriage and family, his education, and the vexing "authorship question." Each chapter treats a particular topic and provides a section on what people think happened, how the story developed, and what we now believe is the historical truth. This book looks objectively and closely at evidence to provide the most likely explanations for questions that cannot be definitively answered. Using historical primary source documents, it gives readers the clearest possible view of endlessly fascinating topics.Chapters examine popular misconceptions related to Shakespeare's life and worksEach chapter discusses how the misconception developed and what we now believe is the truth behind the mythExcerpts from primary source documents show readers how the misconceptions spread and provide evidence for what are now considered the underlying historical truthsChapters cite works for further reading, and the book provides a selected, general bibliography
Intended for a wide range of readers, this book shows the objective beauty of science. It highlights the features of the micro-, macro-, and microcosm, and discusses the role and importance of the ...fundamental constants of the observed universe. It examines the behavior of the human organism as an open non-equilibrium system, as well as ways to transition from a state of "illness" to a state of "health".
"“I didn’t even know that was a question I could ask.” That remark from a student in an introductory philosophy course points to the primary body of knowledge philosophy produces: a detailed record ...of what we do not know. When we come to view a philosophical question as well-formed and worthwhile, it is a way of providing as specific a description as we can of something we do not know. The creation or discovery of such questions is like noting a landmark in a territory we’re exploring. When we identify reasonable, if conflicting, answers to this question, we are noting routes to and away from that landmark. And since proposed answers to philosophical questions often contain implied answers to other philosophical questions, those routes connect different landmarks. The result is a kind of map: a map of the unknown. Yet when it comes to the unknown, and all the more so to its cartography, might it not make sense to take our orientation from Borges: What’s in question here, with respect to philosophical questions, is an incipient, unlocalizable threshold—a terrain neither subjective, nor entirely objective, one neither of representation, nor finally of simple immediacy—there where the map perceptibly fails to diverge from the territory. Amid Inclemencies of weather and fringed, as per Borges, with ruin and singular figures—with Animals and Beggars—what’s enclosed is an attempt to chart the contours of this curious immanence."
The second half of the twentieth century witnessed the emergence of a new model of chronic disease—diagnosed on the basis of numerical deviations rather than symptoms and treated on a preventive ...basis before any overt signs of illness develop—that arose in concert with a set of safe, effective, and highly marketable prescription drugs. In Prescribing by Numbers, physician-historian Jeremy A. Greene examines the mechanisms by which drugs and chronic disease categories define one another within medical research, clinical practice, and pharmaceutical marketing, and he explores how this interaction has profoundly altered the experience, politics, ethics, and economy of health in late-twentieth-century America.
Prescribing by Numbers highlights the complex historical role of pharmaceuticals in the transformation of disease categories. Greene narrates the expanding definition of the three principal cardiovascular risk factors—hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol—each intersecting with the career of a particular pharmaceutical agent. Drawing on documents from corporate archives and contemporary pharmaceutical marketing literature in concert with the clinical literature and the records of researchers, clinicians, and public health advocates, Greene produces a fascinating account of the expansion of the pharmaceutical treatment of chronic disease over the past fifty years.
While acknowledging the influence of pharmaceutical marketing on physicians, Greene avoids demonizing drug companies. Rather, his provocative and comprehensive analysis sheds light on the increasing presence of the subjectively healthy but highly medicated individual in the American medical landscape, suggesting how historical analysis can help to address the problems inherent in the program of pharmaceutical prevention.
Hailed "A staple among readers of theNew York TimesbyPublishers Weekly.
No one denies that New York City is unique-but what makes it sui generis? Sam Roberts, a longtime city reporter, has puzzled ...over this in print and in his popularNew York Timespodcasts for years. InOnly in New York, updated with new tales and fascinating glimpses into uniquely NYC life, he writes about what makes this city tick and why things are the way they are in the greatest of all metropolises on earth. The more than 75 essays in this book cover a variety of topics, including:
-How do New Yorkers react during disasters?-Maritime history (the Hudson River)-Crowds, space, and population growth-1908: a year in History history-Jewish Daily Forward-What happens when a neighborhood loses its tony ZIP code?
A winning and informative gift book for every fan of "the city,"Only in New Yorkis elegantly written and solidly reported.
TheNew York Daily Newssays Roberts "nails it" with this fabulous collection of essays on New York City.Sam writes the Bookshelf column in Sunday Metro section ofThe New York Timesand has covered a lot of our regional books. He plans to write an epilogue to our version to bring it up to date.
Atlas of Improbable Places shows the modern world from surprising new vantage points that will inspire urban explorers and armchair travellers alike to consider a new way of understanding the world ...we live in.
How cats became the undisputed mascot of the internet.The advertising slogan of the social news site Reddit is "Come for the cats. Stay for the empathy." Journalists and their readers seem to need no ...explanation for the line, "The internet is made of cats." Everyone understands the joke, but few know how it started. A Unified Theory of Cats on the Internet is the first book to explore the history of how the cat became the internet's best friend. Internet cats can differ in dramatic ways, from the goth cats of Twitter to the glamourpusses of Instagram to the giddy, nonsensical silliness of Nyan Cat. But they all share common traits and values. Bringing together fun anecdotes, thoughtful analyses, and hidden histories of the communities that built the internet, Elyse White shows how japonisme, punk culture, cute culture, and the battle among different communities for the soul of the internet informed the sensibility of online felines. Internet cats offer a playful-and useful-way to understand how culture shapes and is shaped by technology. Western culture has used cats for centuries as symbols of darkness, pathos, and alienation, and the communities that helped build the internet explicitly constructed themselves as outsiders, with snark and alienation at the core of their identity. Thus cats became the sine qua non of cultural literacy for the Extremely Online, not to mention an everyday medium of expression for the rest of us. Whatever direction the internet takes next, the "series of tubes" is likely to remain cat-shaped.
This book provides an approachable introduction to food labels. While aimed primarily at teens and young adults, it is a valuable tool for anyone who wants to better understand what food labels are ...really saying and make healthy food choices. How accurate is the Nutrition Facts Panel, and who decides what information goes on it? Why don't all foods have nutrition or ingredient information? How can you tell if a product is organic, non-GMO, or ethically produced? Are words such as "all-natural" and "light" on packaging meaningful or just clever marketing? Food Labels: Your Questions Answered, a part of Greenwood's Q&A Health Guides series, provides clear, concise answers to these and many other questions readers may have about the labels and health claims found on food packaging. Each book in this series follows a reader-friendly question-and-answer format that anticipates readers' needs and concerns. Prevalent myths and misconceptions are identified and dispelled, and a collection of case studies illustrates key concepts and issues through relatable stories and insightful recommendations. The book also includes a section on health literacy, equipping teens and young adults with practical tools and strategies for finding, evaluating, and using credible sources of health information both on and off the internet—important skills that contribute to a lifetime of healthy decision-making.
