Books in the Nota Bene series

A biography of the influential jazz pianist, Bill Evans. Peter Pettinger, himself a concert pianist, describes Evans's life, his personal tragedies and commercial successes, his music making, his technique and compositional methods, his approach to ensemble playing, and his legacy.

Based on the 1854 edition of "Walden", this work includes emendations taken from Thoreau's draft manuscripts, with his own markings on page proofs, and notes in his personal copy of the book. This work includes: Introduction, which places Thoreau's life and achievement in context; Notes on the Text; an Afterword by the editor; and, a Bibliography.

A selection of Leonardo da Vinci's writings on painting. Martin Kemp and Margaret Walker have edited material not only from his so-called "Treatise on Painting" but also from his surviving manuscripts and from other primary sources.

A summary of mediaeval aesthetic ideas, by Italian novelist and playwright Umberto Eco. Juxtaposing theology and science, poetry and mysticism, Eco explores the relationship that existed between the aesthetic theories and the artistic experience and practice of mediaeval culture.

The authoritative edition of Franklin's autobiography, now with a new foreword by the eminent Franklin scholar Edmund S. Morgan

For Americans entering the twenty-first century, it is the best of times and the worst of times. Material wealth is at record levels, yet disturbing social problems reflect a deep spiritual poverty. In this compelling book, well-known social psychologist David G. Myers asks how this paradox has come to be and, more important, how we can spark social renewal and dream a new American dream.Myers explores the research on social ills from the 1960s through the 1990s and concludes that the materialism and radical individualism of this period have cost us dearly, imperiling our children, corroding general civility, and diminishing our happiness. However, in the voices of public figures and ordinary citizens he now hears a spirit of optimism. The national dialogue is shifting—away from the expansion of personal rights and toward enhancement of communal civility, away from efforts to raise self-esteem and toward attempts to arouse social responsibility, away from “whose values?” and toward “our values.” Myers analyzes in detail the research on educational and other programs that deal with social problems, explaining which seem to work and why. He then offers positive and well-reasoned advice, suggesting that a renewed social ecology for America will rest on policies that balance “me thinking” with “we thinking.”

Security depends on intelligence, and in this book a leading authority discusses basic problems in American intelligence and how to fix them. For this edition he provides a new preface in which he assesses the security recommendations of the recently released Congressional committee report on 9/11.

This is Frederick Douglass's account of his life in bondage as a slave and his triumph over oppression, originally published in 1845. This edition includes a chronology of Douglass's life, an introduction by a Douglass scholar, historical notes, and reader responses to the 1845 edition.

This title marks the rescue from oblivion of a daring and provocative work by a major 20th century writer. This is West's exploration of Mexican history, religion and culture.

This fascinating book explores the evolution of religious dualism, the doctrine that man and cosmos are constant battlegrounds between forces of good and evil. It traces this evolution from late Egyptian religion and the revelations of Zoroaster and the Orphics in antiquity through the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Mithraic Mysteries, and the great Gnostic teachers to its revival in medieval Europe with the suppression of the Bogomils and the Cathars, heirs to the age-long teachings of dualism. Integrating political, cultural, and religious history, Yuri Stoyanov illuminates the dualist religious systems, recreating in vivid detail the diverse worlds of their striking ideas and beliefs, their convoluted mythologies and symbolism.  Reviews of an earlier edition:"e;A book of prime importance for anyone interested in the history of religious dualism. The author's knowledge of relevant original sources is remarkable; and he has distilled them into a convincing and very readable whole."e;-Sir Steven Runciman"e;The most fascinating historical detective story since Steven Runciman's Sicilian Vespers."e;-Colin Wilson"e;A splendid account of the decline of the dualist tradition in the East . . . both strong and accessible. . . . The most readable account of Balkan heresy ever."e;-Jeffrey B. Russell, Journal of Religion "e;Well-written, fact-filled, and fascinating . . . has in it the making of a classic."e;-Harry T. Norris, Bulletin of SOAS

William Tyndale (1494-1536) was the first person to translate the Bible into English from its original Greek and Hebrew and the first to print the Bible in English, which he did in exile. Giving the laity access to the word of God outraged the clerical establishment in England: he was condemned, hunted, and eventually murdered. However, his masterly translation formed the basis of all English bibles--including the "e;King James Bible,"e; many of whose finest passages were taken unchanged, though unacknowledged, from Tyndale's work.This important book, published in the quincentenary year of his birth, is the first major biography of Tyndale in sixty years. It sets the story of his life in the intellectual and literary contexts of his immense achievement and explores his influence on the theology, literature, and humanism of Renaissance and Reformation Europe.David Daniell, editor of Tyndale's New Testament and Tyndale's Old Testament, eloquently describes the dramatic turns in Tyndale's life. Born in England and educated at Oxford, Tyndale was ordained as a priest. When he decided to translate the Bible into English, he realized that it was impossible to do that work in England and moved to Germany, living in exile there and in the Low Countries while he translated and printed first the New Testament and then half of the Old Testament. These were widely circulated—and denounced—in England. Yet Tyndale continued to write from abroad, publishing polemics in defense of the principles of the English reformation. He was seized in Antwerp, imprisoned in Vilvoorde Castle near Brussels, and burnt at the stake for heresy in 1536.Daniell discusses Tyndale's achievement as biblical translator and expositor, analyzes his writing, examines his stylistic influence on writers from Shakespeare to those of the twentieth century, and explores the reasons why he has not been more highly regarded. His book brings to life one of the great geniuses of the age.

How reliable is our intuition? How much should we depend on gut-level instinct rather than rational analysis when we play the stock market, choose a mate, hire an employee, or assess our own abilities? In this engaging and accessible book, David G. Myers shows us that while intuition can provide us with useful—and often amazing—insights, it can also dangerously mislead us.Drawing on recent psychological research, Myers discusses the powers and perils of intuition when:• judges and jurors determine who is telling the truth;• mental health workers predict whether someone is at risk for suicide or crime;• coaches, players, and fans decide who has the hot hand or the hot bat;• personnel directors hire new employees;• psychics claim to be clairvoyant or to have premonitions;• and much more.

The best short biography of Franklin ever written.Gordon S. WoodBenjamin Franklin is perhaps the most remarkable figure in American history: the greatest statesman of his age, he played a pivotal role in the formation of the American republic. He was also a pioneering scientist, a bestselling author, the countrys first postmaster general, a printer, a bon vivant, a diplomat, a ladies man, and a moralistand the most prominent celebrity of the eighteenth century.Franklin was, however, a man of vast contradictions, as Edmund Morgan demonstrates in this brilliant biography. A reluctant revolutionary, Franklin had desperately wished to preserve the British Empire, and he mourned the break even as he led the fight for American independence. Despite his passion for science, Franklin viewed his groundbreaking experiments as secondary to his civic duties. And although he helped to draft both the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution, he had personally hoped that the new American government would take a different shape. Unraveling the enigma of Franklins character, Morgan shows that he was the rare individual who consistently placed the public interest before his own desires.Written by one of our greatest historians, Benjamin Franklin offers a provocative portrait of Americas most extraordinary patriot.

Only in 1995 did the United States government officially reveal the existence of the super-secret Venona Project. For nearly fifty years American intelligence agents had been decoding thousands of Soviet messages, uncovering an enormous range of espionage activities carried out against the United States during World War II by its own allies. So sensitive was the project in its early years that even President Truman was not informed of its existence. This extraordinary book is the first to examine the Venona messagesdocuments of unparalleled importance for our understanding of the history and politics of the Stalin era and the early Cold War years.Hidden away in a former girls school in the late 1940s, Venona Project cryptanalysts, linguists, and mathematicians attempted to decode more than twenty-five thousand intercepted Soviet intelligence telegrams. When they cracked the unbreakable Soviet code, a breakthrough leading eventually to the decryption of nearly three thousand of the messages, analysts uncovered information of powerful significance: the first indication of Julius Rosenbergs espionage efforts; references to the espionage activities of Alger Hiss; startling proof of Soviet infiltration of the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb; evidence that spies had reached the highest levels of the U.S. State and Treasury Departments; indications that more than three hundred Americans had assisted in the Soviet theft of American industrial, scientific, military, and diplomatic secrets; and confirmation that the Communist party of the United States was consciously and willingly involved in Soviet espionage against America. Drawing not only on the Venona papers but also on newly opened Russian and U. S. archives, John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr provide in this book the clearest, most rigorously documented analysis ever written on Soviet espionage and the Americans who abetted it in the early Cold War years.

This diary by Russian writer Isaac Babel recounts his experiences with the Cossack cavalry during the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-20. The basis for "Red Cavalry", Babel's best-known work, it records the devastation of the war and the extreme cruelty of the Polish and Red Armies towards the Jews.

"Inside Picture Books" raises the question of whether our childhood experiences of picture books can actually be profound enough to shape our adult lives. This book should be of interest to teachers, parents and therapists alike and a lesson to anyone reading a bedtime story.

Clarence H. Miller's translation of "The Praise of Folly", based on the definitive Latin text, seeks to echo Erasmus' own lively style while retaining the nuances of the original text. In his introduction, Miller places the work in the context of Erasmus as humanist and theologian.

An examination of the rise of Islam, the life of Muhammad, and the Islamic principles of faith. Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair describe the golden age of the Abbasids, the Mongol invasions, and the great Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires that emerged in their wake.

An analysis of the enduring conflict in Ireland. It contends that the roots of "the troubles" are inescapably religious and shows that the persistent conflict can only be understood in the context of five centuries of failed attempts by the English to impose Protestantism on the Irish state.

What will eternity in the hereafter be like? This study describes and interprets the ways in which believers - from biblical authors to mediaeval mystics, from Jesus to modern religious thinkers - have pictured Heaven, not just in doctrine but also in poetry, art, literature and popular culture.

A powerful case for the global market economy

A re-evaluation of the life of the legendary 15th-century Portuguese prince, Henry the Navigator. It examines the full range of the Prince's activities as an imperialist and as a maritime, cartographical and navigational pioneer.

An account of wartime Greece, exploring the impact of Nazi Occupation upon the lives and values of ordinary people. It seeks to offer a vividly human picture of resistance fighters and black marketeers, teenage German conscripts and Gestapo officers, Jews and starving villagers.

Chivalry--with its pageants, heraldry, and knights in shining armor--was a social ideal that had a profound influence on the history of early modern Europe. In this eloquent and richly detailed book, a leading medieval historian discusses the complex reality of chivalry: its secular foundations, the effects of the Crusades, the literature of knighthood, and its ethos of the social and moral obligations of nobility.

Spain's transition from the Franco dictatorship to a democratic state has been widely regarded as exemplary. In this narrative, Paddy Woodworth analyzes what happens when a democracy abandons the rule of law, showing how state terror has strengthened revolutionary terrorism.

John Wilmot, the notorious Earl of Rochester, was the darling of the profligate court of Charles II. He was one of the finest poets of the Restoration and model for countless witty young rakes in Restoration comedies. This edition of his poetry is annotated and introduced by David M. Vieth.

Following a facsimile of the 1609 Quatro printed in parallel with a conservatively edited, modernized text, Stephen Booth offers an analytic commentary that ranges from brief glosses to substantial critical essays.

Harry Kelsey paints the picture of Drake as an amoral privateer at least as interested in lining his own pockets with Spanish booty as in forwarding the political goals of his country, a man who became a captain general of the English navy, but never waged traditional warfare with any success.