Books published by The University of Chicago Press

While the natural world is often described as organic, it is in fact structured to the very molecule, replete with patterned order that can be decoded with basic mathematical algorithms and principles. In a nautilus shell one can see logarithmic spirals, and the Golden Ratio can be seen in the seed head of the sunflower plant. These patterns and shapes have inspired artists, writers, designers, and musicians for thousands of years. "Patterns in Nature: Why the Natural World Looks the Way It Does" illuminates the amazing diversity of pattern in the natural world and takes readers on a visual tour of some of the world s most incredible natural wonders. Featuring awe-inspiring galleries of nature s most ingenious designs, "Patterns in Nature" is a synergy of art and science that will fascinate artists, nature lovers, and mathematicians alike."

It is time for the story of the evolution of language to be rewritten. Michael Corballis breaks tradition with the likes of Chomsky, Pinker, and Gould and shows how language was neither a great leap nor a merge of mental wires. Language, he argues, is a device for sharing our thoughts, and is not thought itself; thought evolved independently of language, and was not necessary for its later emergence. His story centers on the ability of mental time travel, that is to entertain thoughts that are not tied to the present, and the theory of mind, or the ability to read other people s minds. Language in this framework becomes a way of sharing our thoughts, of communicating about aspects of the world, exquisitely shaped to communicate about the non-present; ideas, and stories, that are housed in our minds. This involved grammar, a set of conventions by which our thinking can be put into words, so that others can share them. The main attributes of grammatical language were shaped gradually from some 2.5 million years ago, during the Pleistocene. It did not, Corballis contends, emerge in a fortuitous big bang a mere 60,000 years ago. Corballis sees the evolution of language as one of the strongest test cases for Darwin s theory of evolution by natural selection. Language evolution has been referred to as the hardest problems in science, and Corballis here offers some meaningful paths to its solution. "

Consider Miles Davis, horn held high, sculpting a powerful musical statement full of tonal patterns, inside jokes, and thrilling climactic phrases--all on the fly. Or think of a comedy troupe riffing on a couple of cues from the audience until the whole room is erupting with laughter. Or maybe it's a team of software engineers brainstorming their way to the next Google, or the Einsteins of the world code-cracking the mysteries of nature. Maybe it's simply a child playing with her toys. What do all of these activities share? With wisdom, humor, and joy, philosopher Stephen T. Asma answers that question in this book: imagination. And from there he takes us on an extraordinary tour of the human creative spirit. Guided by neuroscience, animal behavior, evolution, philosophy, and psychology, Asma burrows deep into the human psyche to look right at the enigmatic but powerful engine that is our improvisational creativity--the source, he argues, of our remarkable imaginational capacity. How is it, he asks, that a story can evoke a whole world inside of us? How are we able to rehearse a skill, a speech, or even an entire scenario simply by thinking about it? How does creativity go beyond experience and help us make something completely new? And how does our moral imagination help us sculpt a better society? As he shows, we live in a world that is only partly happening in reality. Huge swaths of our cognitive experiences are made up by "what-ifs," "almosts," and "maybes," an imagined terrain that churns out one of the most overlooked but necessary resources for our flourishing: possibilities. Considering everything from how imagination works in our physical bodies to the ways we make images, from the mechanics of language and our ability to tell stories to the creative composition of self-consciousness, Asma expands our personal and day-to-day forms of imagination into a grand scale: as one of the decisive evolutionary forces that has guided human development from the Paleolithic era to today. The result is an inspiring look at the rich relationships among improvisation, imagination, and culture, and a privileged glimpse into the unique nature of our evolved minds.

This image-rich essay offers a radical rethinking of the ab-ex painter Willem de Kooning by one of the greatest American art critics. Many have written about de Kooning s startling canvases of monstrous women, but none have approached them this way. In prose as energetic as her subject, Rosalind Krauss demonstrates how de Kooning could never stop reworking the same subject. Deploying one telling image after another, she shows that, from the early days of his career, de Kooning nearly always (1) worked with a tripartite vertical structure, (2) projected his own figure and point of view as the (male) artist into the painting, and (3) was compelled to produce the female figure, legs splayed obscenely or knees projected into the viewer s space in practically everything he made. Hidden in plain sight even in paintings of highways, boats, and landscapes, Woman is always there. How could we have missed this?"

Examines the ways that people around the world have sought to identify and preserve old. By cultivating the edible memories, the author reveals that you can stay connected to a delicious heritage of historic flavors and to the pleasures and possibilities for generations of feasts to come.

The Indian subdistrict of Shahabad, located in the southeastern tip of Rajasthan, is an area of extreme poverty. It is home to the Sahariyas, officially classified as Rajasthan's only "primitive tribe." The author organizes his study around two themes: power and ethics, through which he explores a complex terrain of material and spiritual forces.

Before publishing his book How the Other Half Lives, Jacob Riis (1849-1914) spent his first years in the US as an immigrant and itinerant laborer, until he landed a job as a muckraking reporter. This book places Jacob Riis' images in historical context. It explores Riis' reporting and activism within the gritty specifics of Gilded Age New York.

Offers recommendations on all matters of writing style and citation. Developed by the Council of Science Editors (CSE), the leading professional association in science publishing, this guide encompasses all areas of the sciences. It has been fully revised to reflect the best practices in scientific publishing.

Zookeepers are responsible for the care and welfare of animals in zoos and aquariums and also serve as public ambassadors for the animals. This book offers an overview of the profession geared toward new animal keepers and anyone who needs a foundational account of the topics most important to the day-to-day care of zoo and aquarium animals.

Combines an inventive reading of Jean-Luc Nancy with queer theoretical concerns to argue that while scenes of intimacy are spaces of sharing, they are also spaces of separation. The author shows that this tension informs our efforts to coexist ethically and politically, an experience of sharing and separation that informs any decision.

Distant relatives of modern lobsters, horseshoe crabs, and spiders, trilobites swam the planet's prehistoric seas for 300 million years, from the Lower Cambrian to the end of the Permian eras - and they did so very capably. This is a revealing guide to these surreal arthropods of ancient Earth.

Based on interviews with individuals who abstain from habits as diverse as sex, cigarettes, sugar, and technology, this book identifies four different types of abstainers: quitters; those who have never done something and never will; those who haven't done something yet, but might in the future; and those who are not doing something temporarily.

Parker robs a rock concert, but the heist goes sour, and he finds himself - and his woman, Claire - menaced by a pair of sadistic, drug-crazed hippies. Slayground turns the hunter into prey, as Parker gets trapped in a shuttered amusement park, besieged by a bevy of local mobsters.

In 2002, young Fadime Sahindal was brutally murdered by her own father, because her relationship with a man outside of their community had deeply dishonored her family. This book narrates her story, along with the testimonies of her father, mother, and two sisters.

A work that traces the storied past of the author's hometown, from the explorations of Joliet and Marquette in 1673 to the new wave of urban pioneers today. It gives voice to the city's steelyard workers and kill floor operators, and maps the neighborhoods distinguished not by Louis Sullivan masterworks but by bungalows and corner taverns.

Helps us to recognize (and look after) the natural world we traipse through in our daily lives. This book uses the familiar - such as summer Sundays humming with lawn mowers, gray squirrels foraging in planters, and flocks of pigeons - in order to introduce basic ecological concepts.

Presents a perspective on the nature and purpose of indexes and their role in published works. This edition has discussions on "information overload" and the role of the index, open-system versus closed-system indexing, electronic submission and display of indexes, and trends in software development, among other topics.

Drawing upon art, science, philosophy, and the history of culture, this title explains the origin of the machine age and traces its social results, asserting that the development of modern technology had its roots in the Middle Ages rather than the Industrial Revolution.

A penetrating examination of how most Americans die today--how the patients and their families' conflicting desires about a "good death" collide with the politics and routines of American hospitals.

Features two intellectuals who engage in a dialogue about the problems and possibilities of human intimacy. In this book, their conversation takes as its point of departure psychoanalysis and its central importance to the modern imagination. It explores new ways of thinking about the human psyche.

This text traces Armenia's past from ancient times to the end of the 20th century through more than 200 colour maps containing information about physical geography, demography, and sociological, religious, cultural and linguistic history.

Beginning with an introduction to soil ecosystems, this work reveals the unseen labors of underground organisms maintaining the rich fertility of the earth as they recycle nutrients between the living and mineral worlds. It introduces readers to an array of creatures: wolf spiders with glowing red eyes, snails with 120 rows of teeth, and more.

Everywhere anarchism is on the upswing as a political philosophy - everywhere, that is, except the academy. Anarchists repeatedly appeal to anthropologists for ideas about how society might be reorganized on a more egalitarian, less alienating basis. Anthropologists, terrified of being accused of romanticism, respond with silence...