Popular Controversies in World History: The Twentieth Century to the Present
This volume offers pro and con arguments for some of the most passionately debated issues in world history since the turn of the 20th century. Who was behind the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the event that launched World War I? Did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone in the death of President John F. Kennedy? Were the fears of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq justified? These are just some of the questions and events since the year 1990 that have sparked vigorous historical debates, both in the academic world and the general public.
A Companion to Contemporary Art is a major survey covering the major works and movements, the most important theoretical developments, and the historical, social, political, and aesthetic issues in contemporary art since 1945, primarily in the Euro-American context.
On one level, "Night of January 16th" is a totally gripping drama about the rise and destruction of a brilliant and ruthless man. On a deeper level, it is a superb dramatic objectification of Ayn Rand's vision of human strength and weakness. Since its original Broadway success, it has achieved vast worldwide popularity and acclaim.
In 1957, the Russians launched Sputnik and the ensuing space race. Three years later, Gene Kranz left his aircraft testing job to join NASA and champion the American cause. What he found was an embryonic department run by whiz kids (such as himself), sharp engineers and technicians who had to create the Mercury mission rules and procedure from the ground up. As he says, "Since there were no books written on the actual methodology of space flight, we had to write them as we went along."
A round-the-world bicycle tour with one of the most original artists of our day. Urban bicycling has become more popular than ever as recession- strapped, climate-conscious city dwellers reinvent basic transportation. In this wide-ranging memoir, artist/musician David Byrne-who has relied on a bike to get around New York City since the early 1980s-relates his adventures as he pedals through an engages with some of the world's major cities.
