Bøger udgivet af Reaktion Books

In Coffee: A Global History, Jonathan Morris explains how the world acquired a taste for coffee, yet why coffee tastes so different throughout the world. Written in an engaging style, and featuring wonderful recipes, stories and facts, the book explores who drank coffee, as well as why and where, how it was prepared and what it tasted like.

A new interpretation of Tycho Brahe's pivotal role in the emergence of empirical science.

The most exciting book on Vikings for a generation, Laughing Shall I Die presents them for what they were: not peaceful explorers and traders, but bloodthirsty warriors and marauders.

In this best-selling book David Batchelor analyzes the motivations behind the widespread fear of colour within Western culture, considering the work of writers and philosophers who have used colour as a significant motif, and offering new interpretations of familiar texts and works of art. 'a hugely entertaining guide to our ongoing obsession with white' - Time Out

An introduction to the lives and works of the most influential economists of modern times.

The rich history of the intoxicating and evocative spice, vanilla.

Georgia is the most Western-looking state in today's Near or Middle East. This book begins with the first intimations of the existence of Georgians in ancient Anatolia and ends with today's volatile President Saakashvili. It also deals with the country's struggles with the empires which have tried to control, fragment or even exterminate it.

This sumptuously illustrated book tells the remarkable story of the mulberry tree.

A new book from Reaktion best-selling author and artist, David Batchelor, The Luminous and the Grey is a unique study of the places where colour comes into being and where it fades away.

An accessible guide to the history of the Assyrian empire from the perspective of its powerful elites. At the height of its power near 660 BC, the Assyrian empire, centered in northern Iraq, wielded dominance from Egypt to Iran. This vast region was ruled by a series of kings who demonstrated their power with magnificent palaces adorned by sculptures depicting rituals, battles, and hunts. Established by military might, the empire thrived under the guidance of scholars who interpreted divine will and administrators who relocated tens of thousands of people to serve the state. This book relates the history of Assyria through the lens of its royal family and the officials who commissioned its buildings, art, and literature--each a critical part of the foundation for the later Babylonian and Persian empires.

Drawing on a range of sources and fields, the rich life story of this polymathic composer. This groundbreaking biography offers fresh perspectives on the life, ideas, and music of French twentieth-century composer, organist, and ornithologist Olivier Messiaen. Drawing from previously unexplored sketches and archival material, the book seamlessly combines elements of biography, musicology, theology, philosophy, psychoanalysis, and aesthetics to present a nuanced perspective on Messiaen's work. Robert Sholl explores the profound impact of Messiaen's devout Catholicism, which found expression through his work as a church organist, his engagement with birdsong, his interaction with Surrealism, and his profound influence on major musical figures of the latter twentieth century. Unlike previous biographies, this book also considers the perspectives of Messiaen's contemporaries and students, providing a comprehensive understanding of his life and artistic legacy.

"A captivating journey spanning five thousand years of Chinese culinary heritage, exploring the essence of each era through seven extraordinary meals. China in Seven Banquets takes readers on a gastronomic adventure into the history of China's constantly evolving and astonishingly diverse cuisine. From the opulent Eight Treasures feast of ancient times to the Tang dynasty's legendary 'Tail-Burning' banquet, and the extravagant 'complete Manchu-Han feast' of the Qing court, these iconic repasts offer glimpses into China's rich food history. Delving further, the book invites us to partake of lavish banquets immortalized in literature and film, a New Year's buffet from 1920s Shanghai, a modern delivery menu reflecting the hyperglobal present, and it even offers a peek at the tables of the not-so-distant future. Drawing upon his extensive gastronomic adventures across China, acclaimed historian Thomas David DuBois unravels its ever-changing landscape of culinary trends, revealing why flavors and customs evolved over time. DuBois also recreates dozens of traditional recipes using modern kitchen techniques. Whether indulging in fermented elk or savoring absinthe cocktails, readers embark on an unparalleled odyssey that redefines their perception of Chinese cuisine"--

A book for our times: a moving meditation on the tension between loneliness and freedom, individualism and love. At no time before have so many people lived alone, and never has loneliness been so widely or keenly felt. Why, in a society of individualists, is living alone perceived as a shameful failure? And can we ever be happy on our own? Drawing on personal experience, as well as philosophy and sociology, Daniel Schreiber explores the tension between the desire for solitude and freedom, and the desire for companionship, intimacy, and love. Along the way he illuminates the role that friendships play in our lives--can they be a response to the loss of meaning in a world in crisis? A profoundly enlightening book on how we want to live, Alone spent almost a year on Germany's bestseller list.

"This book is a new, beautifully illustrated account of Venus, taking in the most recent research into this mysterious, inhospitable world. The book looks at the history of our observations of the planet, from early astronomy to future space missions, and seeks to shed light on many of the questions that remain unanswered, such as why Venus and the Earth--so similar in size and mass--evolved in such different directions, and how Venus acquired its dense carbon-dioxide atmosphere. Above all, Venus assesses whether life might have escaped from the oven-like temperatures at the surface and evolved to become perpetually airborne--in which case Venus may not be lifeless after all."--Publisher marketing.

Featuring a wealth of illustrations, a fungi-filled tour of the importance of mushrooms, from the enchanted forests of folklore to their role in sustaining life on earth. Mushrooms hold a peculiar place in our culture: we love them and despise them, fear them and misunderstand them. They can be downright delicious or deadly poisonous, cute as buttons, or utterly grotesque. These strange organisms hold great symbolism in our myths and legends. In this book, Nicholas P. Money tells the utterly fascinating story of mushrooms and the ways we have interacted with these fungi throughout history. Whether they have populated the landscapes of fairytales, lent splendid umami to our dishes, or steered us into deep hallucinations, mushrooms have affected humanity from the earliest beginnings of our species. As Money explains, mushrooms are not self-contained organisms like animals and plants. Rather, they are the fruiting bodies of large--sometimes extremely large--colonies of mycelial threads that spread underground and permeate rotting vegetation. Because these colonies decompose organic matter, they are of extraordinary ecological value and have a huge effect on the health of the environment. From sustaining plant growth and spinning the carbon cycle to causing hay fever and affecting the weather, mushrooms affect just about everything we do. Money tells the stories of the eccentric pioneers of mycology, delights in culinary powerhouses like porcini and morels, and considers the value of medicinal mushrooms. This book takes us on a tour of the cultural and scientific importance of mushrooms, from the enchanted forests of folklore to the role of these fungi in sustaining life on earth.

An accessible and informative study of the life and work of this vaunted German philosopher. In this concise yet comprehensive critical biography, Ritchie Robertson examines the work of Friedrich Nietzsche within the context of his life. The book traces Nietzsche's development from outstanding classical scholar to cultural critic, who measured Imperial Germany by the standards of ancient Greece. It follows him on his path from a prophet (in the persona of Zarathustra) to a savage polemicist against modern liberal values, offering a "philosophy of the future." Robertson argues that Nietzsche's middle-period writings offer a subtle and searching analysis of his culture, more rewarding than the strident and often-controversial later works. The book also assesses Nietzsche's claim to be continuing the Enlightenment and shows that he valued reason, evidence, and fact, without which his historical case against Christianity would make no sense.

A rogues' gallery of the worst leaders in military history.

An beautifully illustrated account of the sea and its meanings, from ancient myths to contemporary geopolitics.

A superbly illustrated overview of our long relationship with our feathered friends.

A selective yet wide-ranging anthology of concrete poetry edited by curator Nancy Perloff, which redefines what the concrete poetry movement means today.

A vibrant account of both the sensuous cultural scene of postwar Paris and the life of an alluring icon of modern art. Isidore Isou was a young Jew in wartime Bucharest who barely survived the Romanian Holocaust. He made his way to Paris, where, in 1945, he founded the avant-garde movement Lettrism, described as the missing link between Dada, Surrealism, Situationism, and May '68. In Speaking East, Andrew Hussey presents a colorful picture of the postwar Left Bank, where Lettrist fists flew in avantgarde punch-ups in Jazz clubs and cafés, and where Isou--as sexy and as charismatic as the young Elvis--gathered around him a group of hooligan disciples who argued, drank, and had sex with the Parisian intellectual élite. This is a vibrant account of the life and times of a pivotal figure in the history of modern art.

A humane, thoughtful and yet clear-eyed history of people with learning disabilities since 1700.

Carol Mavor takes in the many shades and meanings of the colour blue, including those of science, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Slavery, gender, sex, ornithology, the literary past, and film.

Tokyo today is one of the world's mega-cities and the center of a scintillating, hyper-modern culture--but not everyone is aware of its past. Founded in 1590 as the seat of the warlord Tokugawa family, Tokyo, then called Edo, was the locus of Japanese trade, economics, and urban civilization until 1868, when it mutated into Tokyo and became Japan's modern capital. This beautifully illustrated book presents important sites and features from the rich history of Edo, taken from contemporary sources such as diaries, guidebooks, and woodblock prints. These include the huge bridge on which the city was centered; the vast castle of the Shogun; sumptuous Buddhist temples, bars, kabuki theaters, and Yoshiwara--the famous red-light district.