University of Chicago Press: New Titles from 'Liverpool University Press'

New History of the Isle of Man

Seán Duffy — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

This volume is the third of a five-volume definitive history of the Isle of Man, from the evolution of its natural landscape through prehistory and modern times. The reassessment of the island’s medieval legacy explored here highlights the island’s position as a hub of English, Scottish, Irish and Norwegian power politics as well as it considers the complex nexus of interrelationships—linguistic, economic, and political—that linked the various peoples of the British Isles and Scandinavia.

New History of the Isle of Man

Seán Duffy — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Theophilus of Edessa’s Chronicle

Robert G. Hoyland — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Theophilus of Edessa was a Greek astrologer and scholar in the court of the Muslim caliphs in the eighth century. Making use of his fluency in Greek, Syriac, and Arabic, he brought together historical sources from each language to comprise a single chronicle that charted world-changing events in the Near East from 590–750 CE, among them the Arab conquests, the rise to power of a Muslim Arab dynasty, and the last great war of antiquity, between Byzantium and Iran.

Though no longer extant, Theophilus’s work is known from extensive citations by later historians, and Robert Hoyland has here collected and translated these citations to present the scope of the original text. Included are translations of four chronicles, several of which are being made available here for the first time to the English-language reader.

Theophilus of Edessa’s Chronicle

Robert G. Hoyland — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Liverpool Underworld

Michael Macilwee — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

From dock theft to prostitution to the usual slew of alcohol-related offenses, Liverpool in the nineteenth century was “the black spot on the Mersey,” with a distinct criminal landscape that included a high level of female offenders and armies of juvenile thieves.

Using newspapers, autobiographies, and firsthand accounts, this book explores the social background that helped to create and sustain the high level and variety of crime and looks at how various institutions attempted to bring order to the streets. A mix of statistical analysis and accounts of criminal practice—from poaching to pocket-picking—Liverpool Underworld forms a fascinating account of the city’s underworld.

Liverpool Underworld

Michael Macilwee — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Zachary Macaulay 1768-1838

Iain Whyte — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

A prominent British anti-slavery campaigner, Zachary Macaulay devoted forty years of exhaustive research to combating what he called a “foul stain on the nation,” and his work was instrumental in laying the foundation for the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire. With a focus on his unswerving commitment to the cause, this biography—the first of its kind—examines Macaulay’s life and the people and events that influenced it.

Zachary Macaulay 1768–1838 illustrates the man behind the writings—his passions and his prejudices, his shyness and steely resolve, and, above all, his willingness to work unremittingly in the background, generating the power to drive the engine of anti-slavery to victory.

Public Sculpture of Outer South and West London

Fran Lloyd; Helen M. Potkin; Davina Thackara — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

From the northernmost borough of Hillingdon to the southern boroughs of Kingston, Merton, and Croydon, this volume focuses on public sculpture in the eight boroughs of outer south and west London. Of the three hundred monuments detailed, most were commissioned by aristocratic patrons to adorn private residences, among them Lord Burlington’s Chiswick House and Hampton Court Palace—famous for architectural and garden sculptures by John Van Nost, Caius Gabriel Cibber, and Edward Pierce. The nineteenth century saw private patronage replaced by public support, as ambitious programs of sculpture were launched to emphasize civic virtues. With more than two hundred illustrations, this book locates public sculpture in the context of the metropolis and offers insight into the shifting identities of the outer boroughs.

Artists Re: thinking Games

Ruth Catlow; Marc Garrett; Corrado Morgana — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, artists have embraced the tools and culture of digital gaming to create artwork that challenges the norms and expectations of both the game and art worlds. Artists Re:thinking Games explores the themes adopted by artists working at the intersections of computer games and the visual arts and includes essays and interviews with a range of visual artists, developers, and new media scholars including Mathius Fuchs, Anne-Marie Schleiner, Bill Viola, and Emma Westecott. Not your average computer games reader, Artists Re:thinking Games brings together experts in the field who take a critical, sometimes subversive, but always fresh look at computer games.

Liverpool ‘81

Diane Frost; Richard Phillips — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Published to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the infamous uprisings that shook Liverpool in 1981, this fascinating volume recounts the history of what became known nationally as the Toxteth Riots. Drawing together memories of and responses to the riots by some of the key protagonists, Liverpool ’81 explores the reasons why they took place as well as what their consequences and legacies have been. Additional chapters focus on what has become of the people and places most directly affected by the riots—black and minority communities, as well as inner city residents in Liverpool and beyond—and how these communities have reacted and moved on over the past thirty years.

Sculpture Journal 21.1

Katharine Eustace — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Britain’s foremost scholarly journal dedicated to sculpture in all its aspects, Sculpture Journal provides an international forum for writers and scholars in the field of postclassical and contemporary Western sculpture. Recent highlights include essays by art historian Catherine Speck on Jacob Epstein, Elyse Speaks on Louise Bourgeois, and Anna Seidel on Gian Lorenzo Bernini, alongside current exhibition news and book reviews. Academically focused but accessible and richly illustrated throughout, Sculpture Journal is an insightful read for researchers, enthusiasts, collectors, or anyone interested in sculpture.

Liverpool: City of Radicals

John Belchem; Bryan Biggs — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Uncontrollable, anarchic, and alienated from mainstream England, the Liverpool of popular British imagination is a hotbed of radicalism and creativity. This reputation is richly deserved, as the city has played host to a surprising number of radical events and innovations over the past century. Starting its chronicle in 1911, Liverpool: City of Radicals surveys the role of Liverpool in a wide range of fields, examining events including the near revolution of the Liverpool Transport Strike. Exploring one hundred years of art, music, politics, football, architecture, and theater, the bookconcludes with a look at the city today and what role radicalism will continue to play in its future.

Sociology of Architecture

Paul Jones — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Drawing on sociological theories to assist understanding of how political power operates in the cultural sphere, The Sociology of Architecture frames the discipline as a field of symbolic and material conflict over social identities. This volume contests the notion of architecture as an apolitical endeavor and suggests that major architectural projects can act as tangible expressions of the ultimately contested nature of collective identities, thus shedding light on how those with power both legitimate and mark their position in the world.

Sociology of Architecture

Paul Jones — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

World's Most Difficult Quiz

Pat Cullen — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Which US president did Washington Irving once unflatteringly refer to as a “withered little apple-john?” What reduplicative word refers to a Siamese three-wheeled taxi? In which city is Charlemagne’s octagon? These and other fiendishly difficult questions have stumped pupils at King William’s College as part of its annual General Knowledge Papers for more than a century—along with Guardian readers, for whom the test has been reprinted in its entirety since 1951.

Here, for the first time, is a compendium of the wonderfully obscure questions—and their often unexpected answers—that have appeared on the test over the past thirty years. Guaranteed to challenge even the most ardent trivia enthusiast, this exhaustive compilation is organized thematically and chronologically and includes a set of previously unpublished questions by current quizmaster Pat Cullen.

For history hotshots, fountains of fact, and perennial powerhouses of pub trivia, The World’s Most Difficult Quiz lives every bit up to its superlative name, offering an addictive assortment of intriguing questions.