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Author: Christopher Pinney Publisher: Reaktion Books ISBN: 1780239696 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 214
Book Description
Mirages have long astonished travelers of the sea and beguiled thirsty desert voyagers. Traditional Chinese and Japanese poetry and art depict the above-horizon, superior mirage, or fata morgana, as exhalations of clam-monsters. Indian sources relate mirages to the “thirst of gazelles,” a metaphor for the futility of desire. Starting in the late eighteenth century, mirages became a symbol in the West of Oriental despotism—a negative, but also enchanted, emblem. But the mirage motif is rarely simply condemnatory. More often, our obsession with mirages conveys a sense of escape, of fascination, of a desire to be deceived. The Waterless Sea is the first book devoted to the theories and history of mirages. Christopher Pinney navigates a sinuous pathway through a mysterious and evanescent terrain, showing how mirages have impacted politics, culture, science, and religion—and how we can continue to learn from their sublimity.
Author: Christopher Pinney Publisher: Reaktion Books ISBN: 1780239696 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 214
Book Description
Mirages have long astonished travelers of the sea and beguiled thirsty desert voyagers. Traditional Chinese and Japanese poetry and art depict the above-horizon, superior mirage, or fata morgana, as exhalations of clam-monsters. Indian sources relate mirages to the “thirst of gazelles,” a metaphor for the futility of desire. Starting in the late eighteenth century, mirages became a symbol in the West of Oriental despotism—a negative, but also enchanted, emblem. But the mirage motif is rarely simply condemnatory. More often, our obsession with mirages conveys a sense of escape, of fascination, of a desire to be deceived. The Waterless Sea is the first book devoted to the theories and history of mirages. Christopher Pinney navigates a sinuous pathway through a mysterious and evanescent terrain, showing how mirages have impacted politics, culture, science, and religion—and how we can continue to learn from their sublimity.
Author: Michael Welland Publisher: Reaktion Books ISBN: 1780233892 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 400
Book Description
From endless sand dunes and prickly cacti to shimmering mirages and green oases, deserts evoke contradictory images in us. They are lands of desolation, but also of romance, of blistering Mojave heat and biting Gobi cold. Covering a quarter of the earth’s land mass and providing a home to half a billion people, they are both a physical reality and landscapes of the mind. The idea of the desert has long captured Western imagination, put on display in films and literature, but these portrayals often fail to capture the true scope and diversity of the people living there. Bridging the scientific and cultural gaps between perception and reality, The Desert celebrates our fascination with these arid lands and their inhabitants, as well as their importance both throughout history and in the world today. Covering an immense geographical range, Michael Welland wanders from the Sahara to the Atacama, depicting the often bizarre adaptations of plants and animals to these hostile environments. He also looks at these seemingly infertile landscapes in the context of their place in history—as the birthplaces not only of critical evolutionary adaptations, civilizations, and social progress, but also of ideologies. Telling the stories of the diverse peoples who call the desert home, he describes how people have survived there, their contributions to agricultural development, and their emphasis on water and its scarcity. He also delves into the allure of deserts and how they have been used in literature and film and their influence on fashion, art, and architecture. As Welland reveals, deserts may be difficult to define, but they play an active role in the evolution of our global climate and society at large, and their future is of the utmost importance. Entertaining, informative, and surprising, The Desert is an intriguing new look at these seemingly harsh and inhospitable landscapes.
Author: Blake Hudson Publisher: RWG Publishing ISBN: Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 100
Book Description
Description: Embark on an exhilarating adventure into the heart of the Sahara in "The Sahara Quest: A Journey Through the Desert." Join Captain Drake and his intrepid team as they venture into the vast and enigmatic desert, seeking the secrets of the Lost Oasis. In a race against time, the team battles treacherous sandstorms, navigates unforgiving dunes, and encounters mythical creatures that lurk beneath the desert's surface. They unravel ancient riddles, uncover hidden civilizations, and traverse perilous terrain, all in pursuit of the ultimate prize—the fabled Lost Oasis and its untold treasures. Along their journey, they encounter nomadic tribes, mysterious guides, and desert wildlife, forming alliances and forging unbreakable bonds of unity. They delve into hidden caves, unravel mirage mysteries, and discover the echoes of ancient times that whisper through the desert winds. But their quest is not without its challenges. They face betrayal, confront illusions and deception, and navigate through treacherous territories where every step could mean triumph or tragedy. As they press forward, the team must rely on their resilience, resourcefulness, and unwavering perseverance to overcome the obstacles that stand in their way. "The Sahara Quest: A Journey Through the Desert" is an action-packed adventure that seamlessly blends elements of fantasy and reality. With vivid descriptions that bring the Sahara to life, readers will be transported into a world of stunning landscapes, rich cultural tapestries, and the allure of the unknown. This epic tale takes readers on a rollercoaster ride through the desert's unforgiving terrain, exploring themes of friendship, sacrifice, and the pursuit of wisdom. As Captain Drake and his team uncover the secrets of the desert, they also discover the transformative power of the journey itself—a quest that not only tests their physical limits but also challenges their beliefs and redefines their understanding of the world. If you crave thrilling action, captivating mysteries, and the allure of far-off lands, "The Sahara Quest: A Journey Through the Desert" is the perfect adventure for you. Join Captain Drake and his team on an unforgettable expedition, as they navigate the vastness of the Sahara, uncover ancient treasures, and ultimately, discover the true essence of the desert's magic.
Author: David K. Lynch Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 9780521775045 Category : Art Languages : en Pages : 296
Book Description
We live in a world of optical marvels - from the commonplace but beautiful rainbow, to the rare and eerie superior mirage. But how many of us really understand how a rainbow is formed, why the setting sun is red and flattened, or even why the sky at night is not absolutely black? This beautiful and informative guide provides clear explanations to all naturally occurring optical phenomena seen with the naked eye, including shadows, halos, water optics, mirages and a host of other spectacles. Separating myth from reality, it outlines the basic principles involved, and supports them with many figures and references. A wealth of rare and spectacular photographs, many in full color, illustrate the phenomena throughout. In this new edition of the highly-acclaimed guide to seeing, photographing and understanding nature's optical delights, the authors have added over 50 new images and provided new material on experiments you can try yourself.
Author: Tish Rabe Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers ISBN: 0593126793 Category : Juvenile Fiction Languages : en Pages : 24
Book Description
Laugh and learn with fun facts about desert animals, cacti, sand dunes, and more—all told in Dr. Seuss’s beloved rhyming style and starring the Cat in the Hat! “You may think that deserts are empty and bare, but you’ll be surprised by the things we’ll find there...” The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library series combines beloved characters, engaging rhymes, and Seussian illustrations to introduce children to non-fiction topics from the real world! Journey through the deserts of the world and learn: how plants and animals have adapted to survive the unforgiving climate why deserts don’t have to be hot what causes us to see mirages and much more! Perfect for story time and for the youngest readers, Why Oh Why Are Deserts Dry? All About Deserts also includes an index, glossary, and suggestions for further learning. Look for more books in the Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library series! Cows Can Moo! Can You? All About Farms Hark! A Shark! All About Sharks If I Ran the Dog Show: All About Dogs Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur? All About Dinosaurs On Beyond Bugs! All About Insects One Vote Two Votes I Vote You Vote There’s No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System Who Hatches the Egg? All About Eggs Wish for a Fish: All About Sea Creatures
Author: Harry Verhoeven Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1107061148 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 337
Book Description
Water, Civilisation and Power in Sudan offers an alternative account of how water policy, violence, and economic modernisation are linked.
Author: Roslynn D. Haynes Publisher: Reaktion Books ISBN: 178023208X Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 247
Book Description
Sand. Cacti. Lizards. Mirages. Deserts call to mind exotic places, a sense of adventure and freedom, but also thirst and desolation. In Desert, Roslynn D. Haynes takes a fresh look at this geographical feature and cultural entity as it becomes an increasingly threatened environment. Considering the immense geographical diversity of deserts from the Sahara to Antarctica, Haynes explores the intriguing and often bizarre ways plants and animals adapt to such a hostile environment, as well as the diverse peoples that have inhabited deserts and evolved unique lifestyles and cultures in response to their surroundings. She asks why Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all originated in the deserts of the Middle East and traces the connections between the minimalism of desert existence and the pursuit of a spiritual dimension. Finally, she describes the allure deserts have exerted on the West, the significance of desolate landscapes in literature and film, and the revolution in artists’ responses to the desert as an empty space and as an inspiration for new visual techniques with which to view it. Ending with a look at how commercial and military interests threaten desert ecologies, Desert casts new light on our view of these seemingly barren places.
Author: Benjamin C. Brower Publisher: Columbia University Press ISBN: 0231519370 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 441
Book Description
In the mid-nineteenth century, French colonial leaders in Algeria started southward into the Sahara, beginning a fifty-year period of violence. Lying in the shadow of the colonization of northern Algeria, which claimed the lives of over a million people, French empire in the Sahara sought power through physical force as it had elsewhere; yet violence in the Algerian Sahara followed a more complicated logic than the old argument that it was simply a way to get empire on the cheap. A Desert Named Peace examines colonial violence through multiple stories and across several fields of research. It presents four cases: the military conquests of the French army in the oases and officers' predisposition to use extreme violence in colonial conflicts; a spontaneous nighttime attack made by Algerian pastoralists on a French village, as notable for its brutality as for its obscure causes; the violence of indigenous forms of slavery and the colonial accommodations that preserved it during the era of abolition; and the struggles of French Romantics whose debates about art and politics arrived from Paris with disastrous consequences. Benjamin Claude Brower uses these different perspectives to reveal the unexpected causes of colonial violence, such as France's troubled revolutionary past and its influence on the military's institutional culture, the aesthetics of the sublime and its impact on colonial thinking, the ecological crises suffered by Saharan pastoralists under colonial rule, and the conflicting paths to authority inherent in Algerian Sufism. Directly engaging a controversial history, A Desert Named Peace offers an important backdrop to understanding the Algerian war for independence (1954-1962) and Algeria's ongoing internal war, begun in 1992, between the government and armed groups that claim to fight for an Islamist revolution.
Author: Christopher Pinney
Author: Christopher Pinney
Author: Michael Welland
Author: Blake Hudson
Author: David K. Lynch
Author: Tish Rabe
Author: Harry Verhoeven
Author: Greenler
Author: Roslynn D. Haynes
Author: Arthur Jerome Burdick
Author: Benjamin C. Brower