Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Egyptian Burial Practices - From...

  Omar Khalil

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  The burial practices of ancient Egypt evolved significantly over millennia, reflecting changes in religious beliefs, social structures, and technological advancements. These practices were rooted in the belief in an afterlife, where the preservation of the body and the provision of necessary items were vital. From simple pit burials to grand pyramid constructions, the evolution of Egyptian burial customs offers valuable insights into the cultural and spiritual life of the civilization. 
  In the Predynastic period, burial customs were relatively simple, consisting of shallow pits in the desert sand. The dry, arid environment naturally mummified the bodies, preserving them for millennia. These early graves often contained personal belongings, such as pottery, jewelry, and tools, indicating a belief in a life beyond death. The positioning of the bodies, typically in a fetal position, also suggests a symbolic return to the womb, possibly signifying rebirth. 
  As Egypt unified and entered the Early Dynastic period, burial practices became more elaborate. The development of mastabas marked a significant shift in tomb architecture. These rectangular structures, made of mudbrick or stone, featured underground burial chambers and an above-ground offering chapel. Mastabas were primarily used by the elite, symbolizing their status and wealth. The inclusion of false doors and serdab chambers, which housed statues of the deceased, reflected the belief that the soul could interact with the living through offerings and rituals.

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  Running from Bondage - Enslaved...

  Karen Cook Bell

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  Running from Bondage tells the compelling stories of enslaved women, who comprised one-third of all runaways, and the ways in which they fled or attempted to flee bondage during and after the Revolutionary War. Karen Cook Bell's enlightening and original contribution to the study of slave resistance in eighteenth-century America explores the individual and collective lives of these women and girls of diverse circumstances, while also providing details about what led them to escape. She demonstrates that there were in fact two wars being waged during the Revolutionary Era: a political revolution for independence from Great Britain and a social revolution for emancipation and equality in which Black women played an active role. Running from Bondage broadens and complicates how we study and teach this momentous event, one that emphasizes the chances taken by these 'Black founding mothers' and the important contributions they made to the cause of liberty.

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  Sex and Repression in Savage...

  Bronisław Malinowski

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  Bronislaw Malinowski's seminal work, "Sex and Repression in Savage Society," delves into the intricate dynamics of sexuality and societal control within primitive cultures. Published in 1927, this ethnographic study challenges prevailing Victorian notions of sexuality and sheds light on the nuanced ways in which indigenous societies navigate and regulate sexual behaviors. Malinowski's immersive fieldwork in the Trobriand Islands enables him to provide a rich anthropological account, exploring the role of rituals, customs, and taboos in shaping sexual practices. By examining the interplay between individual desires and communal norms, the author contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between sex and repression in societies that existed outside the purview of Western moral frameworks. Malinowski's groundbreaking insights continue to influence the fields of anthropology and cultural studies, prompting ongoing discussions about the universality of sexual behaviors and the impact of cultural context on human expression.

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  Benny the Blue Whale - A Descent...

  Andy Stanton

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  A bestselling author and AI team up to write a novel. Chaos ensues. 
   
  AI is changing the world at frightening speed. A bestselling author decides to find out more… 
   
  Is ChatGPT the end of creative industries as we know them? An ethical quagmire from which there is no return? A threat to all our jobs, as we keep hearing on the news? 
   
  Bestselling children’s author Andy Stanton has made a career out of writing differently – from the unconventional ‘hero’ of his bestselling Mr Gum series to his penchant for absurdist plots, his children’s books are anything but formulaic. 
   
  When a friend introduces him to ChatGPT, the new large language chatbot, Andy is as sceptical as he is curious. Can this jumble of algorithms really mimic the spontaneity of human thought? Could it one day replace human authors like him for good? And are we soon to be ruled over by despotic robot overlords. 
   
  He decides there’s only one thing for it – he must test this bot’s capabilities. Eventually, he settles on a prompt that will push the algorithm to its creative limits: ‘tell me a story about a blue whale with a tiny penis.’ 
   
  Chaos ensues. 
   
  What follows is a surprising and illuminating battle between Andy and ChatGPT that maybe, just maybe, might help us all understand AI a little bit better. Join Andy and his beleaguered AI lackey on a rollicking metafictional journey through the art of storytelling. Presenting his prompts and the AI-generated narrative alongside extensive commentary, Stanton provides a startling paean to the art of a good story and boundless human creativity. Hopeful and hilarious, Benny the Blue Whale provides a joyfully anarchic meditation on AI, literature and why we write.

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  Chinese Prodigal - A Memoir in...

  David Shih

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  After his father's passing, David Shih sought to unravel the underlying tensions that defined the complex relationship between him and his parents. Ultimately, this forced a reckoning with the expectations he encountered as the only son of Chinese immigrants, and with the realities of what it means to be Asian in a de facto segregated country. At a moment when anti-Asian racism is increasingly overt, Chinese Prodigal is a work of rare subtlety, offering a new vocabulary for understanding a racial hierarchy too often conceived as binary. 
   
   
   
  In public life and in Shih's own, "Asian Americanness" has changed shape constantly, directed by the needs of the country's racial imaginary. A memoir in essays, Chinese Prodigal examines the emergence of "Asian American" identity in a post–Civil Rights America in the wake of Vincent Chin's death. Shih guides us through the roles offered to Asian Americans to play, illuminating what these issues have to teach us about American values and about the vexed place Asians and Asian Americans inhabit today. Shih masterfully captures the intimate costs of becoming an American. 
   
   
   
  Chinese Prodigal knits together the personal, the historical, and the present, offering an incisive examination of a society and the people it has never made space for. It is a moving testimony of a son, father, and citizen.

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  The Yompers - With 45 Commando...

  Ian Gardiner

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  Called to action on 2 April 1982, the men of 45 Commando Royal Marines assembled from around the world to sail 8,000 miles to recover the Falkland Islands from Argentine invasion. Lacking helicopters and short of food, they ‘yomped’ in appalling weather carrying overloaded rucksacks, across the roughest terrain. Yet for a month in mid-winter, they remained a cohesive fighting-fit body of men. They then fought and won the highly successful and fierce night battle for Two Sisters, a 1,000 foot high mountain which was the key to the defensive positions around Stanley.
   
  
   
  This is a first hand story of that epic feat, but it is much more than that. The first to be written by a company commander in the Falklands War, the book gives a compelling, vivid description of the ‘yomp’ and infantry fighting, and it also offers penetrating insights into the realities of war at higher levels. It is a unique combination of descriptive writing about frontline fighting and wider reflections on the Falklands War, and conflict in general.
   
  
   
  Gritty and moving; sophisticated, reflective and funny, this book offers an abundance of timeless truths about war.
   
  
   
  Postscript: ‘Yomping’ was the word used by the Commandos for carrying heavy loads on long marches. It caught the public’s imagination during this short but bitter campaign and epitomized the grim determination and professionalism of our troops.

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