Other books that might interest you

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  Southern Song Dynasty - Art...

  Rolf Hedger

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  The Southern Song Dynasty emerged in 1127 after the fall of the Northern Song to the Jurchen-led Jin Dynasty. This period marked a time of resilience, adaptation, and cultural flourishing, despite ongoing threats from external forces. The dynasty’s establishment in the southern region of China reshaped political, economic, and artistic developments that would leave a lasting impact on Chinese history. 
  Following the invasion of the Jin forces, the Song court was forced to abandon its northern capital, Kaifeng. The remnants of the ruling family, led by Emperor Gaozong, retreated southward, eventually establishing a new capital in Lin’an (modern-day Hangzhou). This move signified not only a geographical shift but also a fundamental transformation in governance and strategy. Without control over the traditional heartland of Chinese civilization, the Southern Song had to develop new approaches to survival and stability. The dynasty focused on strengthening its bureaucracy, relying on a sophisticated civil service system that emphasized merit and Confucian ideals. Unlike the Northern Song, which had struggled with military weaknesses, the Southern Song sought to bolster its defenses by investing in naval power and fortifications along the Yangtze River. 
  The loss of northern territories meant that the Southern Song had to rely heavily on its southern provinces, which were rich in agricultural resources and well-positioned for trade. The economy shifted toward maritime commerce, with ports such as Quanzhou and Guangzhou becoming vital centers for international trade. Merchants expanded connections with Southeast Asia, India, and the Middle East, ensuring a steady flow of goods, wealth, and cultural exchanges. This economic shift allowed the Southern Song to sustain itself despite territorial losses and military pressures from the Jin and, later, the Mongols.

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  Love After the End - An...

  Joshua Whitehead

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  Lambda Literary Award winner 
   
   
   
  This exciting and groundbreaking fiction anthology showcases a number of new and emerging 2SQ (Two-Spirit and queer Indigenous) writers from across Turtle Island. These visionary authors show how queer Indigenous communities can bloom and thrive through utopian narratives that detail the vivacity and strength of 2SQness throughout its plight in the maw of settler colonialism's histories. 
   
   
   
  Here, listeners will discover bio-engineered AI rats, transplanted trees in space, the rise of a 2SQ resistance camp, a primer on how to survive Indigiqueerly, virtual reality applications, motherships at sea, and the very bending of space-time continuums queered through NDN time. Love after the End demonstrates the imaginatively queer Two-Spirit futurisms we have all been dreaming of since 1492. 
   
   
   
  Contributors include Darcie Little Badger, Mari Kurisato, Kai Minosh Pyle, David Alexander Robertson, and jaye simpson.

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  Obscurantism in power When...

  Brice Perrier

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  Over the last ten years or so, it has become commonplace to hear talk of an obscurantist threat linked to a rise in irrationality, manifested mainly by a mistrust of vaccination and conventional medicine. But obscurantism can also be found where we pride ourselves on fighting it. In this case, it is no longer the work of marginal or anti-establishment groups, but of a dominant way of thinking that presents itself as that of science and rationality. 
  The aim of this book is to lift the veil on this obscurantism in power. Through numerous examples, from impeded research into unexplained phenomena such as near-death experiences, to the vast field of medicine where the pharmaceutical industry has cornered the market on proving the usefulness of a treatment, Brice Perrier reveals how reason is transformed into dogmatism and hinders the advancement of knowledge. 
  The aim of the book is not to say what is true or false, nor to settle scientific controversies, but to understand why these debates, which have always been legitimate and even necessary in science, may simply no longer be allowed.

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  Keir Starmer: The Biography

  Tom Baldwin

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  THE BESTSELLING BIOGRAPHY OF THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTER 
  A Times Book of the Year; A Telegraph Book of the Year; A Daily Mail Book of the Year; A Waterstones Book of the Year 
  ‘Required reading for anyone who has an interest in who governs Britain' ALASTAIR CAMPBELL 
  'This will be the most important political book of the year’ MATTHEW D’ANCONA, EVENING STANDARD 
  This authoritative – but not authorised – biography by Tom Baldwin provides answers by drawing deeply on many hours of interviews with Prime Minister himself, as well as unprecedented access to members of his family, his oldest friends and closest colleagues. 
  Together, they tell an unexpectedly intimate story filled with feelings of grief and love that has driven him on more than any rigid ideology or loyalty to a particular faction. 
  The book tracks Starmer’s emergence from a troubled small town background and rebellious youth, through a storied legal career as a human rights barrister and the country’s chief prosecutor, to becoming an MP relatively late in life. 
  Baldwin provides a vivid and compelling account of how this untypical politician then rose to be leader of his party in succession to Jeremy Corbyn, then transformed it with a ruthless rapidity that has enraged opponents from the left just as much as it has bewildered those on the right. 
  Above all, this is a book that should be read by anyone who wants to understand how someone who has too often been underestimated or dismissed as dull, now intends to change Britain. 
  'The first serious and consistently readable biography of Starmer…It is a wonder that he has said so much to Baldwin' PATRICK MAGUIRE, THE TIMES 
  'This is an absolutely riveting and very timely biography' AMOL RAJAN 
  ‘Highly readable… Baldwin has peeled back more layers than anyone else' ROBERT SHRIMSLEY, FINANCIAL TIMES 
  This Sunday Times bestselling book is a journey through the history of democracy in the 21st century. It's an autobiography that explores the ideologies and processes that have shaped European politics. 
  For fans of Rory Stewart (Politics On the Edge), and Bob Woodward (The Final Days). 
  HarperCollins 2024

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  Make to Know - From spaces of...

  Lorne Buchman

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  A journey through the minds of some of the most creative people on the planet reveals that creativity is rarely a “lightbulb moment” and instead arrives through a process of making and self-understanding. The creative process is winding. It involves entertaining uncertainty and improvising new paths to knowing. In this insightful and informed book, Lorne M. Buchman, an international leader in art and design education and president of ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, guides readers through stories of a diverse and talented group of artists, entrepreneurs, innovators, and designers. Including such luminaries as Yves Béhar, Chris Kraus, Zack Snyder, Paula Scher, and Frank Gehry and businesses like Apple and Tesla who have changed the world as we know it, Buchman focuses on the revelatory nature of the creative journey itself. Michelangelo is said to have seen the angel in the stone and carved away until he set him free. Make to Know is about making as a path to knowing?presenting creativity as a “carving away” toward a revelation, not as a fully formed epiphany gleaned from a mysterious ether. As Buchman reveals throughout this provocative book, uncertainty is the space where discovery happens and where creators can be both playful and imaginative. Whether you’re an artist, designer, writer, daydreamer, or doodler, anyone can learn from these lessons on the varied paths to self-expression.

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  Politics of Disinformation

  Bella Palomo, Eve Campos...

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  Discover a comprehensive exploration of the underlying theories of disinformation, and their impact, from leading voices in the field 
   
   
   
  Politics of Disinformation delivers a thorough discussion of the overwhelming problem of modern fake news in the political arena. The book reviews fundamental theoretical concepts of disinformation and analyzes the impact of new techniques of misinformation and the dissemination of false information in the public space. A group of distinguished authors provide case studies to illustrate the effect of disinformation all around the world; including, but not limited to Europe, the Middle East, and South America. 
   
   
   
  The chapters include examination of topics such as the rise of populism, the increasing political influence of social networks, the use of fact checking to combat fake news and echo chambers, and comparative analyses of how disinformation affects conservatives and liberals. A final case study examines all of these factors as they relate to the recent Spanish election of 2019 and how they affected the results.

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