In the middle decades of the sixteenth century, the republican city-state of Florence--birthplace of the Renaissance--failed. In its place the Medici family created a principality, becoming first dukes of Florence and then grand dukes of Tuscany. The Fruit of Liberty examines how this transition occurred from the perspective of the Florentine patricians who had dominated and controlled the republic. The book analyzes the long, slow social and cultural transformations that predated...

This innovative cultural history of financial risk-taking in Renaissance Italy argues that a new concept of the future as unknown and unknowable emerged in Italian society between the mid-fifteenth and mid-sixteenth centuries. Exploring the rich interchanges between mercantile and intellectual cultures underpinning this development in four major cities - Florence, Genoa, Venice, and Milan - Nicholas Scott Baker examines how merchants and gamblers, the futurologists of the pre-modern world,...

In the years since the new mobilities paradigm burst onto the social scientific scene, scholars from various disciplines have analyzed the social, cultural, and political underpinnings of transport, contesting its long-dominant understandings as defined by engineering and economics. Still, the vast majority of mobility studies, and even key works that mention the “good life” and its dependence on the car, fail to consider mobilities in connection with moral theories of the common good....

Despite decades spent confronting human rights violations around the world, particularly in regions of instability, the issue remains one of the most divisive, chaotic, and challenging to address. Development and the Politics of Human Rights takes a much-needed holistic approach. It unpacks the questions of human advocacy and policy, identifies tra

The combat history of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines--or “One Five” (1/5)--is long and illustrious, but there are many periods of their combat operations during the Vietnam War about which there is little in print. This history is drawn from many years of research, from the author’s personal memories, and from careful study of the battalion’s Command Chronologies and Combat After-action Reports and other historical records. Most importantly it includes a collection of true stories told to ...

Fans of Captain Underpants and Shel Silverstein’s poetry will adore this comical collection of verse about farting, poo, and other gross-out topics that will keep kids cackling!Nothing gets kids giggling like a fart joke—and this collection of poetry has enough to satisfy any silly student. With hilarious poems and illustrations that kids will love—and that some adults might find downright cringeworthy—this clever title also introduces young readers to dif...

Journey through the lives of America's leaders, from George Washington to Joe Biden, in this captivating book. Written in simple language, it brings the stories of our presidents to life, making them accessible to readers of all ages. Discover their triumphs, challenges, and the impact they had on our nation. From the founding fathers to modern-day leaders, this book offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of those who have shaped the course of American history.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Walk to Remember, a heartwarming story about family connection and first love, in which a rebellious teen's life is upended when her divorced parents spend the summer together in a North Carolina beach town.Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, Nort...

COVID-19 is an invisible threat that has hugely impacted cities and their inhabitants. Yet its impact is very visible, perhaps most so in urban public spaces and spaces of mobility.This international volume explores the transformations of public space and public transport in response to COVID-19 across the world, both those resulting from official governmental regulations and from everyday practices of urban citizens. The contributors discuss how the virus made urban inequalities s...

In Central African thought, Sunset is the time of uncertainty and transformation – the time between day and night, black and white. The Color red, in the triadic system is often the transformative color, acting as the bridge between the two worlds; light and darkness, life and death, good and evil. The face of Sunset is the face of transformation; the face of that which changes things from one state to the other. This is a journey when the day ends and the night waits to take its rightful ...

I thought moving into a new apartment would be easy…Even in this world of magic and monsters, moving out shouldn’t be too hard, right?With help from the ghost in my head, I hunt monsters to pay the bills and pay my way through university. Now it’s time I finally get my own place.Through lopping off zombie and giant rat heads, I should have enough money, right?But if there’s anything consistent about living in Hope City, things are seldom eas...

The highly anticipated sequel to Juan Gómez-Jurado's number 1 international bestseller, Red Queen, now a top ten streaming series on Prime Video.Antonia Scott is the lynchpin of the Red Queen project, created to work behind the scenes to solve the most dark, devious and dangerous crimes.In Costa del Sol, southern Spain, a key mafia figure is found brutally murdered in his villa. His pregnant wife, Lola Moreno, barely escapes an attempt to kill her ...