Essays & Culture

<p><b>In explaining the rise to power of Kim Yo Jong, Lee displays his deep knowledge and understanding of North Koreas extreme, ruthless and self-obsessed dynastic autocracy, the creators and rulers of a de-facto nuclear weapon state. Not a reassuring story- Sir John Scarlett, former Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)</b><br><br><b><i>The Sister</i> is a fascinating, authoritative account of the spectacular rise of Kim Yo Jong, de-facto deputy to her brother, Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, and the most powerful woman in North Korea.</b><br><br>In 2022, in a particularly fiery speech, Kim Yo Jong threatened to nuke South Korea, reminding the world of the dangers posed by her state. But how did the youngest daughter of Dear Leader Kim Jong Il, his &lsquo;sweet princess&rsquo;, become the ruthless chief propagandist, internal administrator and foreign policymaker for her brother&rsquo;s totalitarian regime?<br><br><i>The Sister</i>, written by Sung-Yoon Lee, a scholar and specialist on North Korea, uncovers the truth about Kim Yo Jong, her close bond with Kim Jong Un and the lessons in manipulation they learned from their father.

He also examines the iron grip the Kim dynasty has on their country, the grotesque deaths of family members deemed disloyal, and the signs that Kim Yo Jong has been positioned as her brother&rsquo;s successor should he die while his own children are young.<br><br>Readable and insightful, this book is an invaluable portrait of a woman who might yet hold the survival of her despotic dynasty in her hands.<br><br><b>An incisive portrayal of North Koreas &quot;princess&quot;, Kim Yo Jong, but also a chilling portrait of a family dynasty that has oppressed and exploited North Korea for generation after generation - Max Boot, <i>Washington Post </i>columnist, author and senior fellow, Council on Foreign Relations</b></p>

Véronique Le Normand is a journalist and writer residing in Paris. In 2002, in the wake of a traumatic experience of loss, a doctor introduced her to Jin Shin Jyutsu, a Japanese art of healing that teaches us how to help ourselves simply through the use of our hands. In 2017, after fifteen years of study and practice, she set off for Japan to learn about the healer and samurai Jiro Murai, who had revived this physio-philosophy at the beginning of the twentieth century. Accompanied by her friend Kyoko Watanabe, Véronique retraced the steps of the elusive master, accompanied in spirit by the presence of seventeenth-century Japanese poet Basho. "The Square Light of the Moon" is the journal of a journey from one world to another and a wonderful initiation into Japanese culture.

The System of Objects is a tour de force-a theoretical letter-in-a-bottle tossed into the ocean in 1968, which brilliantly communicates to us all the live ideas of the day-offering a cultural critique of the commodity in consumer society. Weaving Freudian and semiotic analysis with Marxism, Baudrillard seeks to analyse the immense proliferation of objects in modern society-from the clutter of a bourgeois home to the system of adverts and commercials all around us. In doing so, Baudrillard opened up new avenues for materialist analysis.

An immersive and mesmerizing narrative that reimagines the Mesopotamian myth of the Great FloodA long time ago, the gods grew tired of humans and decided to send a flood to destroy them. But Ea, the god of fresh underground water, didn't agree. He advised one of his devotees, Utnapishtim, to build a quadrangular boat to house humans and animals, and saved these living creatures from the Flood.

Rather than punish Utnapishtim for his disobedience, Enlil, King of the gods, granted the mortal eternal life and banished him to the island of Dilmun. Thousands of years later, when Sinbad the Sailor is shipwrecked and arrives on that very same island, the two begin a conversation about courage, loss, salvation and sacrifice.

'It's hard to be brave,' said Piglet, sniffing slightly, 'when you're only a Very Small Animal.'Winnie-the-Pooh is `The Bear for all Ages', and now he's more fun than ever before. Join in The Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet! Pooh's Way of doing things seems strangely close to the ancient principle of Taoist philosophy, while Piglet exhibits the very important principle in Taoism of the Te, meaning Virtue of the Small. The author's explanations of Taoism and Te through Pooh and Piglet show that this is not an ancient and remote philosophy but something that you can use, here and now. An utterly unique book which makes complex concepts accessible with a little help from Pooh and his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood. Pooh may be a Bear of Very Little Brain but there are lessons to be learned from his approach to life. Beautifully illustrated by E H Shepard. Look out for:Winnie-the-Pooh's Little Book of Wisdom Winnie Ille PU (A Latin translation of Winnie-the-Pooh)The nation's favourite teddy bear has been delighting generations of children for 90 years. Milne's classic children's stories - featuring Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Christopher Robin and, of course, Pooh himself - are both heart-warming and funny, teaching lessons of friendship and reflecting the power of a child's imagination like no other story before or since. Pooh ranks alongside other beloved characters such as Paddington Bear, and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage. Whether you're 5 or 55, Pooh is the bear for all ages.

The first full presentation of a fundamental aspect of Marx, the concept of need

What are needs? While the edifices of economic theory are built upon various mechanisms designed to satisfy "human needs," not many economists have addressed the idea of need itself. Heller's highly original work identifies this lacuna, recognizing the concept of needs as playing a "hidden but principal role in Marx's economic categories." Her writing lucidly exposes radical needs as bearing the seeds of revolutionary agency in alienated capitalist society, and reasserts our existence as sentient beings beyond the realm of the material, productive spheres.

The quest is to document in an artist-book a work-in-project that combines image and text. This book describes how a visual artist and composer who spends her free time in dance schools and keeps record of the dancers’ movements keeps reprocessing the same material again and again as technology advances. She learns how to write as she collects and combines ‘writing exercises’ (ètudes), switching between arts, in the same way as one who is led to explain something while ‘lost in translation’ among every possible expression or memory, and ultimately succeeds in developing definitions.

Homer's tale of the abduction of Helen to Troy and the ten-year war to bring her back to Greece has fascinated mankind for centuries since he related it in The Iliad and The Odyssey. More recently, it has given rise to countless scholarly articles and books, extensive archaeological excavations, epic movies, television documentaries, stage plays, art and sculpture, even souvenirs and collectibles. However, while the ancients themselves thought that the Trojan War took place and was a pivotal event in world history, scholars during the Middle Ages and into the modern era derided it as a piece of fiction. This book investigates two major questions: did the Trojan War take place and, if so, where? It ultimately demonstrates that a war or wars in the vicinity of Troy probably did take place in some way, shape, or form during the Late Bronze Age, thereby forming the nucleus of the story that was handed down orally for centuries until put into essentially final form by Homer. However, Cline suggests that although a Trojan War (or wars) probably did take place, it was not fought because of Helen's abduction; there were far more compelling economic and political motives for conflict more than 3,000 years ago. Aside from Homer, the book examines various classical literary sources: the Epic Cycle, a saga found at the Hittite capital of Hattusas, treatments of the story by the playwrights of classical Greece, and alternative versions or continuations of the saga such as Virgil's Aeneid, which add detail but frequently contradict the original story. Cline also surveys archaeological attempts to document the Trojan War through excavations at Hissarlik, Turkey, especially the work of Heinrich Schliemann and his successors Wilhelm Dorpfeld, Carl Blegen, and Manfred Korfmann. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

'Suetonius, in holding up a mirror to those Caesars of diverting legend, reflects not only them but ourselves: half-tempted creatures, whose great moral task is to hold in balance the angel and the monster within' GORE VIDAL

As private secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, the scholar Suetonius had access to the imperial archives and used them (along with eyewitness accounts) to produce one of the most colourful biographical works in history. The Twelve Caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over Rome, from the foundation of the empire under Julius Caesar and Augustus to the decline into depravity under Nero and the recovery that came with his successors. This masterpiece of observation, immortalized in Robert Graves's classic translation, presents us with a gallery of vividly drawn - and all too human - individuals.