The wedding of the dead

The asian century

The Asian Century: A History of Modern Nationalism in Asia examines the transformation of Asia from a region defined by disparate cultural traditions to one unified by its response to Western imperialism and its revolutionary embrace of modernity. The author argues that until the 19th century, As...

Louis xiii, the just

In this fascinating biography, A. Lloyd Moote provides the first authoritative account of one of the most enigmatic figures of seventeenth-century Europe. Contrary of popular portrayals of the monarch as a hapless kind, Moote argues that Louis XIII was a ruler who powerfully shaped his people's d...

Social suffering

"Social suffering" takes in the human consequences of war, famine, depression, disease, torture—the whole assemblage of human problems that result from what political, economic, and institutional power does to people—and also human responses to social problems as they are influenced by those form...

Auctions and auctioneering

Discover the fascinating world of auctions, where commerce, strategy, and human behavior converge in a dynamic marketplace. In Auctions and Auctioneering, Ralph Cassady, Jr. provides the first comprehensive analysis of the auctioning process, delving deeply into its economic, cultural, and practi...

Spectacular nature

This is the story of Sea World, a theme park where the wonders of nature are performed, marketed, and sold. With its trademark star, Shamu the killer whale—as well as performing dolphins, pettable sting rays, and reproductions of pristine natural worlds—the park represents a careful coordination ...

Ritualized homosexuality in melanesia

This book contains the work of seven leading anthropologists on the subject of ritualized homosexuality, and it marks the first time that anthropologists have systematically studied cross-cultural variations in homosexual behavior in a non-Western culture area. The book as a whole indicates that ...