Essays & Culture

Through a series of specific questions that cut to the core of conspiracism as a global social and cultural phenomenon this book deconstructs the logic and rhetoric of conspiracy theories and analyses the broader social and psychological factors that contribute to their persistence in modern society.

Greek Jewish cooking is the product of Jewish life in four great empires. The Jews have lived in Greece for over 2.000 years as one succeeded another: the Alexandrine, the Roman, the Byzantine, and the Ottoman. From each they took something and made it their own. Beginning in the 15th century, Jewish exiles from the expulsions of Spain and Portugal and, later, from the violence of eastern Europe, came to Ottoman ruled Greece and created one of the greatest Jewish cities in history. Salonika reigned as "Queen of Israel" for over four hundred years, until it fell victim to the Nazi Holocaust. What remains today in Greece are the memories of survivors from the last generation of Salonika's reign and of 2.000 years of Greek Jewish life. The recipes for the Cookbook of the Jews of Greece were painstakingly gathered from these survivors in retirement homes and family homes throughout Greece by the director of the Jewish Museum of Greece, Nicholas Stavroulakis. He has brought his own varied background to bear on the cookbook's creation. His family is of mixed Cretan, Jewish, and Turkish origins. He is an artist and a cook. He has exhibited widely in Europe and the United States and has illustrated numerous books. After being educated in Great Britain and the United States, he taught at Tel Aviv University before returning to Greece to become the director of the Jewish Museum in Athens.

Jill Dudley writes about the clash of St. Paul's concept of love with the sexual pleasures which the pagans enjoyed at the great temple of Aphrodite on Acrocorinth. She describes how the Apostle spent his time at nearby Old Corinth observing, preaching and converting, and why he wrote his Letters to the Corinthians. It is as it says on the back cover of the booklet: All you need to know about the sacred site, its myths, legends and its gods.

"A lovely work of ethnographic art. . . the book is virtually unsurpassed in its careful but not laborious coherence and overall development of exposition that convincingly extends the network of significant connections and at the same time presses the analysis deeper towards the ultimate grounds of Greek village imagination"" (Rodney Needham, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, All Souls College, Oxford), ""This elegantly written and beautifully constructed book illumines the imaginative world underpinning the ordinary lives of Greek villagers, and shows how their culture has been built around the ""deep structure"" of their Orthodox Christian faith. As a result we are introduced to a world of profound humanity and spiritual depth. A unique experience"" (Bishop Basil of Amphipolis, Ecumenical Patriarchate), ""In this remarkable volume, a sequel to her acclaimed study of a Greek mountain village, Juliet du Boulay shows the place of Orthodoxy in villagers' thinking. She explores the way their faith is woven into the details of their lives, especially in the imagery of the round dance, a symbol in both village and Orthodox tradition of blest communal living. The result is fascinating" (Fr Andrew Louth, Professor of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, University of Durham).

Inspired by artist Tamara Laporte's popular online art classes (willowing.org), Create Your Life Book presents 18 step-by-step mixed-media drawing and painting projects that encourage self-fulfillment through the creative process. Tamara's kind, non-judgmental voice guides your way. What is holding you back? Where do you want to go? Let go of the past! Use these expressive exercises to help you recognize your personal challenges and other obstacles, then work through them. Let go of limiting beliefs, find courage, feel gratitude, heal pain, and develop self-love as you playfully create. Each themed chapter presents four to five two-part projects. First, you will explore a common issue that hampers creativity and/or positive self-worth. The second portion is a step-by-step mixed-media art project designed to help you work through that issue. Just a few of the explorations:Let go of what no longer serves you by taking stock of what's holding you back, then create a zentangle butterfly to symbolize you flying away from those limiting things. Embrace and love your inner quirky bird by taking an inventory of your quirky traits, then create a bird that celebrates them. Heal old wounds by writing a letter to yourself as a child, then create a house to keep your inner child safe. Adding rich variety to the messages and art inspiration, some of the project outlines have been contributed by Tamara's guest teachers: Roxanne Coble, Andrea Gomoll, Alena Hennessy, Mystele Kirkeeng, Ivy Newport, and Effy Wild, each of whom are noted mixed-media artists in their own right. The final chapter presents a simple binding method for creating a keepsake book of your Life Book projects. Steeped in inspirational images and uplifting affirmations, Create Your Life Book can help you achieve both personal and creative growth.

Crete, the 'Great Island' of Greece, has been home to such figures as the legendary King Minos, El Greco and Nikos Kazantzakis. In myth, it is associated with Daedalus and Icarus and the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. Today it is one of the most popular destinations in Greece, its visitors lured by the promise of spectacular beaches and the remains of some of the most influential and ancient civilisations in Europe.

Part history, part guide, "Crete" includes comprehensive and detailed itineraries, covering the cities of Iraklion, Rethymnon and Chania; the great Minoan palaces at Knossos, Phaestos and Ayia Triadha plus Graeco-Roman ruins, Byzantine churches and Venetian churches. Scattered throughout are the myths, legends and folklore of the island, as well as notes on its hidden gems: scenic stopping-off points, untouched beaches, mountain villages and tavernas, where the ancient ritual songs and dances of Crete are still performed.'In the middle of the sable sea, there lies an isle called Crete, a ravisher of eyes...' - Homer, "The Odyssey".

From the acclaimed author of How Will Capitalism End? comes an omnibus of long-form critical essays engaging with leading economists and thinkers. Critical Encounters draws on Wolfgang Streeck's inimitable writing for the London Review of Books and New Left Review, among other publications. It opens with treatments of two contrasting historical eras-factory capitalism and financialization -and three of the world's major economies: the United States, France and Germany.

Delving into the world of ideas, Streeck discusses the work of Quinn Slobodian, Mark Blyth, Jurgen Habermas and Perry Anderson. Finally, he zooms out to compare his home discipline of sociology to natural history, giving a remarkable and non-deterministic reading of Charles Darwin.

In the preface, Streeck reflects on the art (or craft) of book reviewing and the continuing merits of the book form. Critical Encounters also includes a series of 'Letters from Europe', penned as the coronavirus descended upon the Continent.

This sensual journey across the Greek mainland and the islands provides a view behind the scenes of Greek culinary culture for fans of this countr

From award-winning historian Mark Mazower, Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century retells the story of a century of division, charting the struggles of rival ideologies to create a new world order for mankind. The end of the First World War saw old empires swept away and the opportunity to build a better society from the ruins. Yet the result was division and bloodshed on an unprecedented scale, as liberal democracy, communism and fascism struggled against one another for mastery of the world.

Dark Continent radically overturns the myth of Europe as a safe haven of democracy to redefine our view of the twentieth century. 'Original, thought-provoking, iconoclastic' Frank McLynn, Irish Times 'Fascinating and forceful' Martin Gilbert, Literary Review 'Mazower leaves us, in this wonderful book, with an account of our century that anyone who takes an interest in Europe's present and future will enlarge their mind by reading' John Keegan, Daily Telegraph 'There are few who can walk with A.J.P. Taylor.

One is Mark Mazower ... a tour de force' Alex Danchev, TLS 'Combines narrative verve with wise and humane analysis. For anyone who wants to know how Europe came to be the way it is in the years since 1900, this is the work to provide the answers' David Cannadine, Observer Books of the Year Mark Mazower is the author of Inside Hitler's Greece, The Balkans, which won the Wolfson Prize for History, Salonika: City of Ghosts, which won both the Runciman Prize and the Duff Cooper Prize and Hitler's Empire.