Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Tang Dynasty - Golden Age of Art...

  Rolf Hedger

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  The Tang Dynasty, one of the most prosperous and influential periods in Chinese history, lasted from 618 to 907 CE. Often referred to as a golden age, it was marked by significant cultural, political, and economic developments that shaped the trajectory of Chinese civilization. The dynasty succeeded the Sui Dynasty, which had fallen due to internal strife and excessive military campaigns, and it laid the foundation for many of the political and cultural features that would characterize Chinese history for centuries. The Tang Dynasty's legacy is still visible in the arts, governance, and cultural exchanges that continue to influence China today. 
  The founding of the Tang Dynasty is attributed to Li Yuan, who became Emperor Gaozu after a successful rebellion against the Sui Dynasty in 618. His reign was followed by that of his son, Emperor Taizong, one of the most renowned rulers in Chinese history. Under their leadership, the Tang Empire quickly expanded its territories, establishing control over much of present-day China and extending its influence across Central Asia, Korea, and parts of Southeast Asia. This expansion was not only military but also cultural, as the Tang Dynasty became a melting pot of diverse peoples, cultures, and ideas. 
  Politically, the Tang Dynasty introduced several innovations that helped maintain its stability and success. It perfected the imperial examination system, which allowed for a more meritocratic approach to selecting government officials, and it expanded the civil service, ensuring that a large and efficient bureaucracy could handle the empire’s vast territory. The legal system, known as the Tang Code, was influential in shaping the governance of China for centuries and served as a model for other East Asian countries.

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  Only Wanna Be with You - The...

  Tim Sommer

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  In 1985, Mark Bryan heard Darius Rucker singing in a dorm shower at the University of South Carolina and asked him to form a band. For the next eight years, Hootie & the Blowfish—completed by bassist Dean Felber and drummer Soni Sonefeld—played every frat house, roadhouse, and rock club in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, becoming one of the biggest independent acts in the region. 
   
   
   
  In Only Wanna Be with You, Tim Sommer, the ultimate insider who signed Hootie to Atlantic Records, pulls back the curtain on a band that defied record-industry odds to break into the mainstream by playing hacky sack music in the age of grunge. He chronicles the band's indie days; the chart-topping success—and near-cancelation—of their major-label debut, cracked rear view; the year of Hootie (1995) when the album reached no. 1, the "Only Wanna Be with You" music video collaboration with ESPN's SportsCenter became a sensation, and the band inspired a plotline on the TV show Friends; the lean years from the late 1990s through the early 2000s; Darius Rucker's history-making rise in country music; and one of the most remarkable comeback stories of the century. Featuring extensive new interviews with the band members, some of their most famous fans, and stories from the recording studio, tour bus, and golf course, this book is a must-listen for Hootie lovers and music buffs.

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  The Shortest History of Music -...

  Andrew Ford

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  No art form is as widely discussed—or as readily available—as music. With the click of just a few buttons, modern humans can decide what they think of the brand-new Beyoncé just as quickly as they can form opinions on Brahms or the Beatles or Bob Dylan. But things weren't always this way. In this brisk, breakneck history, award-winning musician and broadcaster Andrew Ford dives into the constant evolutions and reinventions that have led to the popularity and accessibility of modern music. Ford explores: 
   
   
   
  ● Why playing history's earliest example of notated music—clay tablets from 1400 BCE Syria—doesn't produce a consistent sound 
   
   
   
  ● How colonization and the slave trade led to one region in West Africa having an unparalleled influence on world music 
   
   
   
  ● How clerical and royal support allowed early composers to invent the symphony 
   
   
   
  ● What leads humans to make music in the first place—and why music plays such a massive role in our culture. 
   
   
   
  The Shortest History of Music takes us on a lively tour through several thousands of years of music history, tracing our relationship with this essential art and allowing us to freshly appreciate and understand music today.

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  How to Be Avant-Garde - Modern...

  Morgan Falconer

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  Reacting to the tumultuous crises of the twentieth century, especially the horrors of World War I, avant-garde artists and writers sought to destroy art by transforming it into the substance of everyday life. Following the evolution of these revolutionary groups, How to Be Avant-Garde charts its pioneers and radical ideas. 
   
   
   
  Avant-gardists challenged the confines of the definition of art along with the confines of the canvas itself. Art historian Morgan Falconer starts with the Futurist founder Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, whose manifesto seeded avant-gardes across Europe. In turn, Dadaists Hugo Ball and Emmy Hennings sought to replace art with political cabaret, and the Surrealists tried to exchange it for tools to plumb the unconscious. He guides us through the Russian Constructivists with their adventures in advertising and utopianism and De Stijl with the geometric abstractions of Piet Mondrian. The Bauhaus broke more boundaries, transmuting art into architecture and design. Finally, the Situationists swapped art for politics, with their ideas inspiring the 1968 Paris student protests. 
   
   
   
  How to Be Avant-Garde is a journey through the interlocking networks of these creative lives with their visions of a better world, their sometimes sympathetic but often strange conversations, and their objects and writings that defied categorization.

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  Superbook - The World of...

  John Rain

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  If you mention the word ‘superhero’ these days, everyone and their mum can tell you a potted history of it all, because they’ve sat through numerous phases, extended TV series, and animated side-specials of expansive character-development, culminating in extraordinary final chapters, with the screen literally stacked full of characters battling one another while your eyes bleed with excitement and spectacle.
  
  But before 1997, people would generally only think of a few things: Christopher Reeve smiling as he keeps a watchful eye over Earth’s atmosphere, Michael Keaton running around Gotham while dressed in molded rubber. Nicholas Hammond's Spider-Man being hauled up a wall on a rope, pretending to grip it, while also being a foot away from it. Bill Bixby trying not to get angry, Flash Gordon arriving in another galaxy, that was essentially a soft porn film, Dolph Lundgren mumbling in broken English while Frank Langella hammed behind a mask, and how Michael Crawford dressed like a bird was the closest thing Disney had to a cinematic universe.
  
  Despite starting on a high in 1978, by 1997 there could be no doubt that the genre was dead. Out was the sheen of verisimilitude, and in were Bat-credit-cards, ugly CGI, slashed budgets, rubber nipples and Martin Sheen in a girdle.
  
  So, whatever happened to the heroes? Join John Rain as he walks through every film of note from 1978 to 1997, and examines just what went wrong, and how. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s SUPERBOOK.

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  Great Zimbabwe - Stone Cities...

  Rolf Hedger

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  The rise of Great Zimbabwe was shaped by geography, economic opportunities, and social organization, allowing it to become one of Africa’s most influential civilizations. Emerging around the 9th century, the settlement developed into a thriving political and economic center by the 11th century, reaching its peak between the 13th and 15th centuries. Its growth was fueled by abundant natural resources, a strategic location, and participation in regional and international trade. 
  The Zimbabwean plateau, with its fertile soil and favorable climate, provided ideal conditions for agriculture. The Shona people, who founded Great Zimbabwe, cultivated sorghum and millet, which sustained the growing population. In addition to farming, cattle herding played a crucial role in the economy. Cattle were a measure of wealth and social status, serving as currency in trade and marriage negotiations. The presence of large herds further reinforced the power of the elite, who controlled access to grazing lands and water sources. 
  Beyond agriculture, Great Zimbabwe’s location made it a key player in long-distance trade. The city was situated between the goldfields of southern Africa and the coastal trade hubs of the Swahili city-states. Gold mining became a major economic activity, with miners extracting the metal from riverbeds and underground deposits. This gold was traded with merchants from Kilwa, Sofala, and other Swahili ports, where it was exchanged for luxury goods such as Persian ceramics, Chinese porcelain, and Indian textiles. The wealth generated from trade allowed Great Zimbabwe to expand, attracting artisans, traders, and skilled laborers.

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