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The great Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross became a Carmelite monk in 1563 and helped St. Teresa of Avila to reform the Carmelite order -- enduring persecution and imprisonment for his efforts. Both in his writing and in his life, he demonstrated eloquently his love for God. His written thoughts on man's relationship with God were literacy endeavors that placed him on an intellectual and philosophical level with such great writers as St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. In this work -- a spiritual masterpiece and classic of Christian literature and mysticism -- he addresses several subjects, among them pride, avarice, envy, and other human imperfections. His discussion of the "dark night of the spirit," which considers afflictions and pain suffered by the soul, is followed by an extended explanation of divine love and the soul's exultant union with God. This fine translation by E. Allison Peers "is the most faithful that has appeared in any European language:...

Among nature's most delicate and graceful creatures, butterflies add a note of ethereal beauty to the summer landscape. Now you can add the decorative charm of butterflies to windows, posters, notecards, and other flat surfaces. It's easy with this inexpensive collection of 29 pressure-sensitive stickers revealing a spectacular, brilliantly colored display of Lepidoptera. The stickers come in a variety of sizes and shapes and Dover's handy book format keeps them close and fresh until ready for use. Product details For ages 3-5 Format Paperback | 4 pages ...

Among the best-loved books of all time, Louise May Alcott's Little Women has appealed to generations of readers. This charming paper doll collection recreates all four of the genial title characters featured in that literary classic. Here in full color are practical Meg, tomboyish Jo, gentle Beth, and curly-haired Amy. The four dolls can be dressed in 16 different mid-Victorian outfits--all based on scenes from the popular novel. Included are costumes for the celebrated Christmas play; practical daytime wear consisting of capes, shawls, aprons, and dresses; and a bridal dress trimmed with ruffles and lace for Meg's wedding. A delight for collectors and paper doll fans of all ages, this wonderful collection will also thrill readers who still have warm memories of Alcott's timeless tale. Product details For ages 0-5 ...

Between 1830 and 1860, thousands of Southern slaves escaped to the North and Canada by way of the "underground railroad." Neither underground nor a railroad, this secret network had "conductors" (persons who helped runaway slaves on their journey north) and "stations" (stopping places along the way). Artist Peter Copeland portrays scenes from this grim period in American history in 45 dramatically rendered illustrations that include shocking views of "below decks" aboard a slave ship, slave pens, a family being seized by slave catchers, methods of punishing runaway slaves, an escaped slave with Seminole Indians, John Brown on the way to his execution, refugees arriving at a safe house, and more. Also included are portraits of abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass; Congressman Thaddeus Stevens; Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin; Laura Haviland, a "conductor" on the underground railroad; and other fig...

The Russian-born, Paris-based artist Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) is best known for his incomparably styled fashion and theater designs of the 1910s and 1920s. From 1915 to 1936 Erté was associated with Harper's Bazar, furnishing readers with fashion designs, cover art, and word-pictures of the European fashion scenes. This book is a selection of Erté's remarkable work for Harper's Bazar, including 310 of his line drawings and 8 full-color images as well as selections from his letters for the magazine. Of these drawings, 12 have been reproduced directly from the original pen drawings at original size for this edition. In the illustrations, Erté shows gowns, coats, pajamas, hats, and accessories of all sorts and for each season. Tassels, fur muffs, capes, hair stylings, and other extravagant flourishes are second nature to Erté in these designs. The drawings themselves are striking evocations of the "temptress" type of feminine allure, and are works of art in their ...

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) began his career at the end of the Romantic period and his death signaled the end of the last major age of Italian opera. During his lifetime and in posterity, the composer's popularity surpassed that of his peers, and three of his works -- La bohéme, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly -- rank among the twenty-first century's ten most-performed operas. With their enchanting melodies, exotic subjects, and realistic plots, Puccini's operas continue to speak to the minds and hearts of listeners. This comprehensive exploration of Puccini's most beloved operas presents concise and entertaining overviews of the composer's works. In addition to exploring the poignant stories that inspired the operas, the guide elaborates on their musical and dramatic content. Part musical analysis and part interpretation, this book is above all a personal appreciation. In addition to offering an ideal companion for opera devotees, the accessible treatment forms an...

In recent years the stirring, unforgettable poetry of Jalālu'l-Dīn Rūmī (1207-1273), the great Sūfi teacher and the greatest mystical poet of Iran, has gained tremendous popularity in the western world. Although he died over 700 years ago, his poetry is timeless. In the best modern translations, the passion and playfulness of his words reach across the ages to communicate themselves to people today with an undiluted fervor and excitement. Rūmī produced an enormous body of work -- as many as 2,500 mystical odes, 25,000 rhyming couplets, and 1,600 quatrains -- some of it instructional, some personal and emotional, much of it sublimely beautiful. The present volume includes over 100 of his finest lyrics, including "The Marriage of True Minds," "The Children of Light," "The Man who Looked Back on his way to Hell," "The Ascending Soul," "The Pear-Tree of Illusion," "The Riddles of God," and many more. "In some of these p...

Seminal work by great modern philosopher and mathematician focuses on certain issues of mathematical logic that Russell believed invalidated much traditional and contemporary philosophy. Topics include number, order, relations, limits and continuity, propositional functions, descriptions and classes, more. Clear, accessible excursion into the realm where mathematics and philosophy meet. Product details Format Paperback | 192 pages Dimensions 136 x 216 x 11.68mm ...

This lucid introductory text offers both an analytic and an axiomatic approach to plane projective geometry. The analytic treatment builds and expands upon students' familiarity with elementary plane analytic geometry and provides a well-motivated approach to projective geometry. Subsequent chapters explore Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry as specializations of the projective plane, revealing the existence of an infinite number of geometries, each Euclidean in nature but characterized by a different set of distance- and angle-measurement formulas. Outstanding pedagogical features include worked-through examples, introductions and summaries for each topic, and numerous theorems, proofs, and exercises that reinforce each chapter's precepts. Two helpful indexes conclude the text, along with answers to all odd-numbered exercises. In addition to its value to undergraduate students of mathematics, computer science, and secondary mathematics education, this volume provides an exc...

Contemporary artists and designers are finding the wood engraving one of the most highly desirable sources of illustration for many design purposes. Simple and bold or capable of the most exquisite effects of tonal gradation, this elegant black-and-white artwork sustains no loss in reproduction and is a perfect complement to typography. 1,419 clear wood engravings present, in natural, lifelike poses, over 1,000 species of animals. Included are many different versions of the familiar animals most wanted and used by commercial artists and craftsmen. Arranged according to the following seven categories, the illustrations portray mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, and other invertebrates. Selected for their visual impact and usability by artist-collagist Jim Harter, these illustrations form one of the most extensive, royalty-free pictorial sourcebooks of animals ever assembled for the specific use of illustrators, graphic designers, craftspeople, decoupeurs, and collagi...

In this book the renowned Russian mathematician Georgi E. Shilov brings his unique perspective to real and complex analysis, an area of perennial interest in mathematics. Although there are many books available on the topic, the present work is specially designed for undergraduates in mathematics, science and engineering. A high level of mathematical sophistication is not required. The book begins with a systematic study of real numbers, understood to be a set of objects satisfying certain definite axioms. The concepts of a mathematical structure and an isomorphism are introduced in Chapter 2, after a brief digression on set theory, and a proof of the uniqueness of the structure of real numbers is given as an illustration. Two other structures are then introduced, namely n-dimensional space and the field of complex numbers. After a detailed treatment of metric spaces in Chapter 3, a general theory of limits is developed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 treats some theorems on continuous numer...

When her former governess finds happiness as the bride of a local widower, the brilliant and beautiful Emma Woodhouse -- one of Jane Austen's immortal creations -- flatters herself that she alone has secured the marriage and that she possesses a special talent for bringing lovers together. The young heiress next busies herself with finding a suitable husband for her friend and protege, Harriet Smith, setting off an entertaining sequence of comic mishaps and misunderstanding in this sparkling comedy of English-village romance. Beneath its considerable wit, the novel is also the story of a young woman's progress toward self-understanding. Emma abounds in the droll character sketches at which Jane Austen excelled. In addition to the well-intentional heroine and her hypochondriacal father, the village of Highbury during the Regency period is populated by an amusing circle of friends and family -- kindhearted but tedious Miss Bates, a chatterbox spinster; ambitious Mr. Elton, a so...

As chief advisor to the emperor Nero, Lucius Annaeus Seneca was most influential in ancient Rome as a power behind the throne. His lasting fame derives from his writings on Stoic ideology, in which philosophy is a practical form of self-improvement rather than a matter of argument or wordplay. Seneca's letters to a young friend advise action rather than reflection, addressing the issues that confront every generation: how to achieve a good life; how to avoid corruption and self-indulgence; and how to live without fear of death. Written in an intimate, conversational style, the letters reflect the traditional Stoic focus on living in accordance with nature and accepting the world on its own terms. The philosopher emphasizes the Roman values of courage, self-control, and rationality, yet he remains remarkably modern in his tolerant and cosmopolitan attitude. Rich in epigrammatic wit, Seneca's interpretation of Stoicism constitutes a timeless and inspiring declaration of the dig...

Mother Nature's loveliest creatures get additional embellishment in this collection of beautifully rendered butterflies. Gilded with glitter that enhances each graceful subject, these sparkling stickers add a unique touch to greeting cards, notes, and gift packages. 14 full-color stickers on 2 plates. Product details For ages 3-5 Format Paperback | 2 pages Dimensions 102 x 145 x 3mm ...

Epicyclic trains, oblique rollers, trip hammers, and lazy-tongs are among the ingenious mechanisms defined and illustrated in this intriguing collection. Spanning the first century of the Industrial Revolution, this 1868 compilation features simplified, concise illustrations of the mechanisms used in hydraulics, steam engines, pneumatics, presses, horologes, and scores of other machines. The movements of each of the 507 mechanisms are depicted in drawings on the left-hand page, and the facing page presents a brief description of the item's use and operation. Ranging from simple to intricately complex, the mechanisms offer a fascinating view of the variety of small components that constitute complex machinery. A detailed index provides easy reference to specific mechanisms. Inventors, tinkerers, and anyone with an interest in the history of invention and technology will find this volume a treasury of information and inspiration. Product detail...

This book contains 38 carefully researched, accurately drawn illustrations of the aboriginal inhabitants of North America, ranging from the Seminole of Florida to the Chilkat of Alaska. Other tribes represented include the Pequot, Mohawk, Iroquois, Seneca, Crow, Cree, Cherokee, Choctaw, Huron, and many more. Chiefs, warriors, women, and children are shown in authentic costume among tepees, pueblos, and other traditional dwellings; many are depicted hunting, making war, dancing, and cooking. Detailed renderings recreate their weapons (knives, clubs, axes, bows and arrows, etc.), basketry, masks, canoes, and sleds. Ideal as an educational resource (and an invaluable source of royalty-free illustration as well), this coloring book also offers hours of stimulating entertainment to anyone who desires to recapture the color and drama of Indian life. Product details For ages ...

When an aging heiress is found fatally poisoned, the amazing Hercule Poirot, brilliant Belgian criminal investigator, is brought out of retirement to solve the case. In this classic tale of murder, jealousy, and greed, Agatha Christie introduced the famed sleuth, who is immediately confronted by mysteries within a mystery: a door bolted from the inside of the victim's room; the disappearance of a coffee cup believed to have held the poison; the charred remains of a will, a strange fragment of fabric, and a curious rug stain found near the body. All are puzzling pieces of evidence in a crime for which there is no shortage of suspects, not the least of which are the victim's philandering husband, an assortment of unhappy relatives, and an extremely outspoken hired companion. A perennial favorite with mystery fans since it was first published in 1921, this entertaining and tautly constructed murder mystery easily placed its author among the most accomplished and entertaining w...

Often ranked as the greatest of Plato's many remarkable writings, this celebrated philosophical work of the fourth century B.C. contemplates the elements of an ideal state, serving as the forerunner for such other classics of political thought as Cicero's De Republica, St. Augustine's City of God, and Thomas More's Utopia. Written in the form of a dialog in which Socrates questions his students and fellow citizens, The Republic concerns itself chiefly with the question, "What is justice?" as well as Plato's theory of ideas and his conception of the philosopher's role in society. To explore the latter, he invents the allegory of the cave to illustrate his notion that ordinary men are like prisoners in a cave, observing only the shadows of things, while philosophers are those who venture outside the cave and see things as they really are, and whose task it is to return to the cave and tell the truth about what they have seen. This dynamic metaphor ...

Best remembered for his collections of folk and fairy tales, Andrew Lang was also highly regarded as a Homeric scholar. In this thrilling book, superbly illustrated by H. J. Ford, Lang draws masterfully upon his classical training to bring to life some of the central stories of Greek mythology. Readers will follow the exciting adventures of Ulysses from his boyhood through his perilous return from the Trojan War, meet the lovely Helen of Troy, hear about the amazing Trojan horse, join Jason on his determined quest for the Golden Fleece, encounter the fierce, beautiful Amazons, and learn about the legendary deeds of other remarkable Greek heroes. Product details For ages 12-17 Format Paperbac...

Here is the world's most famous master plan for seizing and holding power. Astonishing in its candor "The Prince" even today remains a disturbingly realistic and prophetic work on what it takes to be a prince . . . a king . . . a president. When, in 1512, Machiavelli was removed from his post in his beloved Florence, he resolved to set down a treatise on leadership that was practical, not idealistic. . . "The Prince" . . .has become essential reading for every student of government, and is the ultimate book on power politics. Product details Format Paperback | 80 pages Dimensions ...