Poisoned cigars, seductive apparitions, minds and empires in the last of their decline and the most notorious kiss in dramatic history – decadent plays challenged the moral as much as the dramatic imagination of their own day, and continue to probe horizons of taste and the possibilities of stagecraft.In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many writers reacted to urban modernity by embracing decadent themes and styles, and dramatists were no exception. Decadenc...

Stick to the rules and you won't have a problem working for this arrogant, sanctimonious cad.The Rules of DNR: How to Survive Working for Cole LawsonDo Not Respond emails are meant to be sent to yourself only—never to be re-read or responded to.Vent about your mean boss and don't focus on the scruff on his chin. Ignore the butterflies that flutter as he stares back at you and concentrate on his condescending tone.I wish I'd listened. I wish I...

In this exploration of the central Chinese concept of qi, a team of authors trace its role in early texts and contemporary neuroscience to show how it continues to be relevant beyond China.As life-long scholars of qi related practices, Adam Frank, Nancy Chen, and Stephen Field offer new insights into the significance of qi in the current Anthropocene. They connect Daoist studies, Chinese medicine, martial arts, popular culture, and historical phenomenology to exami...

Following the discovery of gold deposits, in December 1875 the US Government ordered the indigenous population of the Black Hills in what is now South Dakota and Wyoming, the Sioux, to return to the Great Sioux Reservation.When the Sioux refused, the US Army sent forces into the area, sparking a conflict that would make Lieutenant Colonel George Custer, Chief Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and others household names around the world.Examining a series of engage...

With the violent separation between the United States and Britain which began in 1776, the new 'Americans' set off to fulfill their manifest destiny and rule their new land from coast to coast.As they pushed westward, they came into conflict with both natives and other European settlers, and began to build fortresses to defend their newly claimed land. This book charts the development and variation of the fortresses of the American Frontier, covering both American ...

This absorbing study casts light on the tactics, technologies, and specially raised units involved in siege operations during the American Civil War.Remembered for its bloody pitched battles, the American Civil War also witnessed a substantial number of hard-fought actions involving fortified locations, ranging from the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861 to the drawn-out siege of Petersburg in 1864–65. The crucial role played by major centers such as Vicksbur...

During the 19th century, US forces confronted the Seminole people in a series of bitter wars over the fate of Florida.After the refusal of the Seminoles to move west to the Creek Reservation in Mississippi, the US government sent troops to bring Florida under federal control, marking the beginning of the Second Seminole War. On December 28, 1835, troops led by Major Francis Langhorne Dade were ambushed and massacred en route to Fort King.Two years of guerri...

Featuring specially commissioned artwork and archive illustrations, this engrossing study describes the US Marine Corps' early operations and illustrates its evolving uniforms and personal equipment.The US Marine Corps' uniforms, personal equipment, insignia, and weaponry are all described and illustrated in this book, complemented by a succinct history of the Marines' military record from their beginnings to the eve of the American Civil War, by which time the US ...

Reveals the tactics, technologies, and specially raised units at the heart of the Union's conduct of combined operations in the American Civil War.During the Civil War, as well as confronting the Confederates on land, the Union forces mounted several ambitious amphibious operations, both on the coast and along the banks of the great rivers. In this book, renowned historian Ron Field explains how the growing effectiveness of the Union Navy, the willingness of the Un...

The Mississippi River played a decisive role in the American Civil War. This book shows how the Confederate fortifications that controlled the lower Mississippi valley were put to the test in the lengthy Federal campaign of 1862-63.Vicksburg was a fortress city, known as the 'Gibraltar of the Confederacy', whose capture was seen as the key to victory in the war. This book explores the fortifications of the river valley, focusing on Vicksburg and its defences which ...

From an internationally renowned expert on US history, this highly illustrated title details the curtain-closing campaign of the American Civil War in the East.Ulysses S Grant's Army of the Potomac and Robert E Lee's Army of Northern Virginia faced up to one another one last time, resulting in Lee conducting a desperate series of withdrawals and retreats down the line of the Richmond and Danville Railroad, hoping to join forces with General Joseph E. Johnston's Arm...

A gripping account of how and why the legendary 'scourge of God' was able to inscribe his legacy into the annals of military history.One of the most powerful men in late antiquity, Attila's peerless Hunnic empire stretched from the Ural mountains to the Rhine river. In a series of epic campaigns dating from the AD 430s until his death in AD 453, he ravaged first the Eastern and later the Western Roman Empire, invading Italy in AD 452 and threatening Rome itself.