While representing the best of human endeavor, works of art have become ordinary features of our lives, familiar and reliably present," writes Richard Teleky. "They are, however, extraordinary. So extraordinary, in fact, that in themselves they are a kind of paradise." In Ordinary Paradise, acclaimed author, critic and editor Richard Teleky considers a variety of artistic forms—from novels and poems to paintings and sculptures to movies and musical compositions—in celebration of the creative achievements that surround us and affect our daily lives. He examines, as well, some of the challenges and tensions in any artist’s life. The essays in Ordinary Paradise challenge conventional wisdom and exemplify a dynamic and lively critical approach, pointing out troubling trends in contemporary appreciation of art and culture. They reveal the rewarding complexities of the demanding art of translation, the nostalgic power of re-reading in provoking self-assessment, and the fraught connection between language, silence and identity as they relate to marginalized voices. Teleky immerses himself into ideas of truth, beauty and humanity, and in so doing, provides a compelling exemplar for engaging with contemporary culture and learning the innumerable lessons that artistic accomplishments have to teach us.
A contemporary tale which manages that stunning and rare feat - telling a story of human interaction in a way that is universal, revelatory and suspenseful. As fault lines in American society break apart during the spring of 2012, a puzzling death in a small Midwest college town draws a solitary university archivist into an entanglement of shifting realities. Torn between the memory of old bonds and the difficult present, he must confront a mysterious brew of paranoid politics, campus gossip, and an antique-mall subculture that includes the surprise discovery of unknown letters by Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. For this moving story of friendships in crisis, award-winning writer Richard Teleky returns to the narrator of his much-praised novel Pack Up the Moon, now twenty years older and wiser. This is a complex exploration of longing, loss, and the passing of time, ultimately even testing the very nature of friendship itself.
Like the renowned American writer Edmund Wilson, who began to learn Hungarian at the age of 65, Richard Teleky started his study of that difficult language as an adult. Unlike Wilson, he is a third-generation Hungarian American with a strong desire to understand how his ethnic background has affected the course of his life. “Exploring my ethnicity,” he writes, “became a way of exploring the arbitrary nature of my own life. It was not so much a search for roots as for a way of understanding rootlessness - how I stacked up against another way of being.” He writes with clarity, perception, and humor about a subject of importance to many Americans - reconciling their contemporary identity with a heritage from another country. From an examination of photographer Andre Kertesz to a visit to a Hungarian American church in Cleveland, from a consideration of stereotypical treatment of Hungarians in North American fiction and film to a description of the process of translating Hungarian poetry into English, Teleky’s interests are wide-ranging. he concludes with an account of his first visit to Hungary at the end of Soviet rule.
Told in Teleky's spare yet elegant prose, Pack Up the Moon is a moving account of how the connections between people can fail, and how the aftermath of unintended betrayal can reverberate decades later.
While representing the best of human endeavor, works of art have become ordinary features of our lives, familiar and reliably present," writes Richard Teleky. "They are, however, extraordinary. So extraordinary, in fact, that in themselves they are a kind of paradise." In Ordinary Paradise, acclaimed author, critic and editor Richard Teleky considers a variety of artistic forms—from novels and poems to paintings and sculptures to movies and musical compositions—in celebration of the creative achievements that surround us and affect our daily lives. He examines, as well, some of the challenges and tensions in any artist’s life. The essays in Ordinary Paradise challenge conventional wisdom and exemplify a dynamic and lively critical approach, pointing out troubling trends in contemporary appreciation of art and culture. They reveal the rewarding complexities of the demanding art of translation, the nostalgic power of re-reading in provoking self-assessment, and the fraught connection between language, silence and identity as they relate to marginalized voices. Teleky immerses himself into ideas of truth, beauty and humanity, and in so doing, provides a compelling exemplar for engaging with contemporary culture and learning the innumerable lessons that artistic accomplishments have to teach us.
Like the renowned American writer Edmund Wilson, who began to learn Hungarian at the age of 65, Richard Teleky started his study of that difficult language as an adult. Unlike Wilson, he is a third-generation Hungarian American with a strong desire to understand how his ethnic background has affected the course of his life. “Exploring my ethnicity,” he writes, “became a way of exploring the arbitrary nature of my own life. It was not so much a search for roots as for a way of understanding rootlessness - how I stacked up against another way of being.” He writes with clarity, perception, and humor about a subject of importance to many Americans - reconciling their contemporary identity with a heritage from another country. From an examination of photographer Andre Kertesz to a visit to a Hungarian American church in Cleveland, from a consideration of stereotypical treatment of Hungarians in North American fiction and film to a description of the process of translating Hungarian poetry into English, Teleky’s interests are wide-ranging. he concludes with an account of his first visit to Hungary at the end of Soviet rule.
In the parade of highlights with which many have tried to sum up the twentieth century, the overarching patterns and fundamental transformations often fail to come into focus. The Columbia History of the 20th Century, however, is much more than a chronicle of the previous century's front-page news. Instead, the book is a series of twenty-three linked interpretive essays on the most significant developments in modern times--ranging from athletics to art, the economy to the environment. Rather than presenting a linear narrative, each author uncovers patterns of worldwide change. James Mayall, for example, writes on nationalism from the rise of European fascism to the rise of Asian and African nations; Sheila Fitzpatrick traces the history of communism and socialism in Moscow and Havana. In her chapter on women and gender, Rosalind Rosenberg covers the progress of women's rights throughout the world, from Middle Eastern activism to the American feminist movement. Jean-Marc Ran Oppenheim's history of sports traces the spread of Western sports to all corners of the globe and the West's appropriation of such activities as martial arts. In each, the important strands of history--events, ideas, leading figures, issues--come together to offer an illuminating look at cultural connection, diffusion, and conflict, showing in stark relief how this period has been unlike any preceding era of human history.
Bacillus anthracis--anthrax--had largely faded from public consciousness until it resurfaced as a terrorist weapon in 2001. It was always with us, lurking in the soil and hosted by our livestock. Long before it was identified as a specific bacterium in the late 1800s, "anthrax" was a catchphrase for a variety of diseases and symptoms, from ancient biblical plagues to a painful carbuncle on George Washington's leg. Only when industrialization turned anthrax into a widespread disease that threatened economies did a true understanding of Bacillus anthracis begin to emerge. This history of anthrax follows the development of our understanding of the disease, beginning in the 18th century, when science began breaking ground on the subject, until the present, when anthrax is feared more as an agent of biowarfare than as a health hazard harbored by the environment. There are three appendices: the first outlines the reaction of Manchester, New Hampshire, to the 2001 anthrax attacks; the second documents workplace warnings to anthrax-prone workers; and the third lists novels that involve anthrax. Bibliographical references are also provided.
Stay on top of the latest scientific and therapeutic advances with the new edition of Leibel and Phillips Textbook of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Theodore L. Phillips, in collaboration with two new authors, Drs. Richard Hoppe and Mack Roach, offers a multidisciplinary look at the presentation of uniform treatment philosophies for cancer patients emphasizing the "treat for cure" philosophy. You can also explore the implementation of new imaging techniques to locate and treat tumors, new molecularly targeted therapies, and new types of treatment delivery. Supplement your reading with online access to the complete contents of the book, a downloadable image library, and more at expertconsult.com. Gather step-by-step techniques for assessing and implementing radiotherapeutic options with this comprehensive, full-color, clinically oriented text. Review the basic principles behind the selection and application of radiation as a treatment modality, including radiobiology, radiation physics, immobilization and simulation, high dose rate, and more. Use new imaging techniques to anatomically locate tumors before and during treatment. Apply multidisciplinary treatments with advice from experts in medical, surgical, and radiation oncology. Explore new treatment options such as proton therapy, which can facilitate precise tumor-targeting and reduce damage to healthy tissue and organs. Stay on the edge of technology with new chapters on IGRT, DNA damage and repair, and molecularly targeted therapies.
Though modern scientists recognize mercury as a harmful environmental pollutant and one of the world's most dangerous elemental toxins, mercury was once considered a wondrous substance capable of eradicating internal disease, revolutionizing the paint and cosmetics industries and even entertaining the masses as part of amateur magic tricks and witch doctor scams. This work traces the history of mercury in popular culture, beginning in the early eighteenth century when Dr. Thomas Dover, nicknamed "Dr. Quicksilver," began prescribing doses of raw mercury to clear out intestinal blockages and rid the body of syphilis and other diseases. The author then details the role of mercury in several medical, industrial, and cultural applications. In the fields of dentistry and vaccination, mercury continues to be used as a preservative and amalgamative agent. In the cosmetics industry, mercury was once used as a popular "skin lightener" in soaps and skin creams. In the early development of obstetrics and gynecology, mercury was once used to stimulate conception and fetal abortion. Many more uses of mercury, along with many more, are outlined in the work, while several appendices provide translations of rare works which reference mercury.
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