Books published by Yale University Press

"Celestial Mirror is a photographic book about India's 18th-century astronomy observatories, popularly known as the Jantar Mantars. Jai Singh's observatories are an extraordinary combination of architecture and science, putting elements of astronomy, astrology, and geometry into architectural forms of exotic beauty. The book draws on author Perlus' extensive work in panoramic photography to create an immersive experience for the reader. The book also includes an introduction to Indian astronomy by conservation architect and scholar Anisha Shekhar Mukherji"--

A compelling evolutionary narrative that reveals how human civilization follows the same ecological rules that shape all life on Earth

A wide-ranging and original introduction to the Anthropocene (the Age of Humanity) that offers fresh, theoretical insights bridging the sciences and the humanities

The story of how Brazilian Catholics and Protestants confronted one of the greatest shocks to the Latin American religious system in its 500-year history

"Security Empire examines the history of early secret police forces in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany in the aftermath of the Second World War. Molly Pucci delves into the ways their origins diverged from the original Soviet model based on differing interpretations of communism and local histories and illuminates the difference between veteran agents who fought in foreign wars and younger, more radical agents who combatted 'enemies of communism' in the Stalinist terror in Eastern Europe"--Jacket.

A fascinating history of the artistic innovation and political debates that took shape in New Deal-era murals

"Now available in English for the first time, Austrian satirist and polemicist Karl Kraus's Third Walpurgis Night was written in immediate response to the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 but withheld from publication for fear of reprisals against Jews trapped in Germany. Acclaimed when finally published by Kèosel Verlag in 1952, it is a devastatingly prescient exposure, giving special attention to the regime's corruption of language as masterminded by Joseph Goebbels. Bertolt Brecht wrote to Kraus that, in his indictment of Nazism, "You have disclosed the atrocities of intonation and created an ethics of language." This masterful translation, by the prizewinning translators of Kraus's The Last Days of Mankind, aims for clarity where Kraus had good reason to be cautious and obscure"--

A new vision of money as a communication technology that creates and sustains invisible--often exclusive--communities

Few artists have had as much of an impact on American popular culture as Stan Lee. The characters he created-Spider-Man and Iron Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four-occupy Hollywood's imagination and production schedules, generate billions at the box office, and come as close as anything we have to a shared American mythology. This illuminating biography focuses as much on Lee's ideas as it does on his unlikely rise to stardom. It surveys his cultural and religious upbringing and draws surprising connections between celebrated comic book heroes and the ancient tales of the Bible, the Talmud, and Jewish mysticism. Was Spider-Man just a reincarnation of Cain? Is the Incredible Hulk simply Adam by another name? From close readings of Lee's work to little-known anecdotes from Marvel's history, the book paints a portrait of Lee that goes much deeper than one of his signature onscreen cameos.

The forgotten story of how ordinary families managed financially in the Victorian era--and struggled to survive despite increasing national prosperity

"Francis Poulenc is a key figure in twentieth-century classical music, as well as an unorthodox and striking individual. Roger Nichols draws upon Poulenc's music and other primary sources to write an authoritative life of this great artist. Although associated with five other French composers in what came to be called "Les Six", Poulenc was very much sui generis in personality and in his music, where he excelled over a wide repertoire-opera, songs, ballet scores, chamber works, piano pieces, sacred and secular choral works, orchestral works and concertos. This book fully covers this wide range, while also describing the vicissitudes of Poulenc's life and the many important relationships he had with major figures such as Satie, Ravel, Stravinsky, Diaghilev, Cocteau and others."--Provided by publisher.

In 1620, separatists from the Church of England set sail across the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower. Understanding themselves as spiritual pilgrims, they left to preserve their liberty to worship God in accordance with their understanding of the Bible. There exists, however, an alternative, more dispiriting version of their story. In it, the Pilgrims are religious zealots who persecuted dissenters and decimated the Native peoples through warfare and by stealing their land. The Pilgrims' definition of liberty was, in practice, very narrow. Drawing on original research using underutilized sources, John G. Turner moves beyond these familiar narratives in his sweeping and authoritative new history of Plymouth Colony. Instead of depicting the Pilgrims as otherworldly saints or extraordinary sinners, he tells how a variety of English settlers and Native peoples engaged in a contest for the meaning of American liberty. From dust jacket.

An overview of current issues and developments in foreign language education, designed for instructors of language, literature, and culture at any stage of their careers

Tracing the story of anger from the Buddha to Twitter, Rosenwein provides a much-needed account of our changing and contradictory understandings of this emotion

"This comprehensive survey of Catholic history in what became the United States spans nearly five hundred years, from the arrival of the first Spanish missionaries to the present. Distinguished historian Leslie Tentler explores lay religious practice and the impact of clergy on Catholic life and culture as she seeks to answer the question, What did it mean to be a "good Catholic" at particular times and in particular places? In its focus on Catholics' participation in American politics and Catholic intellectual life, this book includes in-depth discussions of Catholics, race, and the Civil War; Catholics and public life in the twentieth century; and Catholic education and intellectual life. Shedding light on topics of recent interest such as the role of Catholic women in parish and community life, Catholic reproductive ethics regarding birth control, and the Catholic church sex abuse crisis, this engaging history provides an up-to-date account of the history of American Catholicism."--

This engaging volume tells the history of Western fashion, exploring how and why it has influenced people's attitudes, actions, and beliefs since the Middle Ages. Back in Fashion focuses on themes specific to particular periods - such as the significance of medieval sumptuary laws that limited expenditure on clothing; the use of black in early modern Europe; the role of sports on clothing in contemporary times; and the rise of luxury in the new millennium. Author Giorgio Riello investigates how fashion has shaped and continues to characterize Western societies, impacting the lives of millions of people and their relationship to the economy and politics.

An authoritative survey situating some of the Western world's most renowned buildings within a millennium of Islamic history

Gothic cathedrals in northern Europe dazzle visitors with arrays of sculpted saints, angels, and noble patrons adorning their portals and interiors. In this highly original and erudite volume, Jacqueline E. Jung explores how medieval sculptors used a form of bodily poetics--involving facial expression, gesture, stance, and torsion--to create meanings beyond conventional iconography and to subtly manipulate spatial dynamics, forging connections between the sculptures and beholders. Filled with more than 500 images that capture the suppleness and dynamism of cathedral sculpture, often through multiple angles, Eloquent Bodies demonstrates how viewers confronted and, in turn, were addressed by sculptures at major cathedrals in France and Germany, from Chartres and Reims to Strasbourg, Bamberg, Magdeburg, and Naumburg. Shedding new light on the charismatic and kinetic qualities of Gothic sculpture, this book also illuminates the ways artistic ingenuity and technical skill converged to enliven sacred spaces. --

Rached Ghannouchi has long been known as a reformist or moderate Islamist thinker. In 'Public Freedoms in the Islamic State', he argues that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights--in its broad outlines--meets with wide acceptance among Muslims if their interpretation of Islamic law is correct. Under his theory of the purposes of Shari'a, justice and human welfare are not exclusive to Islamic governance, and the objectives of Islamic law can be advanced in multiple ways. Translated by David L. Johnston.

An engaging, accessible survey of the ethical issues faced by engineers, designed for students

In this nuanced historical analysis of late Stalinism organized chronologically around the main events of the period--beginning with Victory in May 1945 and concluding with the death of Stalin in March 1953--Evgeny Dobrenko analyzes key cultural texts to trace the emergence of an imperial Soviet consciousness that, he argues, still defines the political and cultural profile of modern Russia.

How popular democracy has paradoxically eroded trust in political systems worldwide, and how to restore confidence in democratic politics

"Ben Hecht's critically acclaimed autobiographical memoir, first published in 1954, offers incomparably pungent evocations of Chicago in the 1910s and 1920s, Hollywood in the 1930s, and New York during the Second World War and after"--

One woman's influential contribution to modernism, achieved through a fascinating revival of tapestry

Includes work by Robert Adams, Jean (Hans) Arp, Lynda Benglis, Alighiero Boetti, Louise Bourgeois, Constantin Brancusi, Liz Deschenes, Fritz Dietl, Lucio Fontana, Rachel Harrison, Vlastislav Hofman, Louise Lawler, Sherrie Levine, Piero Manzoni, Allan McCollum, Barnett Newman, Hâelio Oiticica, Claes Oldenburg, Blinky Palermo, Sigmar Polke, Medard Rosso, Joel Shapiro, Cindy Sherman, Alina Szapocznikow, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, Robert Watts, Christopher Williams.

Works by Prosek and others are juxtaposed with natural objects in an illuminating interrogation of the artificial boundaries we create between art and nature

A beautifully designed and lavishly illustrated survey of 19th-century paintings in the Netherlands