Описание: A humiliating military defeat by Bismarck's Germany, a brutal siege, and a bloody uprising--Paris in 1871 was a shambles, and the question loomed, "Could this extraordinary city even survive?" With the addition of an evocative new preface, Mary McAuliffe takes the reader back to these perilous years following the abrupt collapse of the Second Empire and France's uncertain venture into the Third Republic. By 1900, Paris had recovered and the Belle Epoque was in full flower, but the decades between were difficult, marked by struggles between republicans and monarchists, the Republic and the Church, and an ongoing economic malaise, darkened by a rising tide of virulent anti-Semitism. Yet these same years also witnessed an extraordinary blossoming in art, literature, poetry, and music, with the Parisian cultural scene dramatically upended by revolutionaries such as Monet, Zola, Rodin, and Debussy, even while Gustave Eiffel was challenging architectural tradition with his iconic tower. Through the eyes of these pioneers and others, including Sarah Bernhardt, Georges Clemenceau, Marie Curie, and Cesar Ritz, we witness their struggles with the forces of tradition during the final years of a century hurtling towards its close. Through rich illustrations and vivid narrative, McAuliffe brings this vibrant and seminal era to life.
Описание: McAuliffe portrays Paris in full flower at the turn of the 20th century, where creative dynamos set their respective circles on fire with their revolutionary visions and discoveries. But all was not well in this world, underscored by ominous drumbeat of the approaching Great War-a cataclysm that would brutally bring the Belle Epoque to its close.
A riveting investigation of the myriad ways that parasites control how other creaturesincluding humansthink, feel, and act.
These tiny organisms can only live inside another animal, and as McAuliffe reveals, they have many evolutionary motives for manipulating their host's behavior. Far more often than appreciated, these puppeteers orchestrate the interplay between predator and prey. With astonishing precision, parasites can coax rats to approach cats, spiders to transform the patterns of their webs, and fish to draw the attention of birds that then swoop down to feast on them.
We humans are hardly immune to the profound influence of parasites.
Organisms we pick up from our own pets are strongly suspected of changing our personality traits and contributing to recklessness, impulsivityeven suicide. Microbes in our gut affect our emotions and the very wiring of our brains. Germs that cause colds and flu may alter our behavior even before symptoms become apparent.
Parasites influence our species on the cultural level too.
As McAuliffe documents, a subconscious fear of contagion impacts virtually every aspect of our lives, from our sexual attractions and social circles to our morals and political views. Drawing on a huge body of research, she argues that our dread of contamination is an evolved defense against parasitesand a double-edged sword. The horror and revulsion we feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization, but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day.
In the tradition of Jared Diamond'sGuns, Germs and Steeland Neil Shubin'sYour Inner Fish,This Is Your Brain on Parasitesis both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human.
Описание: Conflict between England and France was a fact of life for centuries, but few realize that its origins date from the time of the Vikings, when a Norse chieftain named Rollo established himself and his progeny in Normandy. In this compelling and entertaining history, Mary McAuliffe takes the reader back to those dark and turbulent times when Rollo s descendants, the dukes of Normandy, asserted their dominance over the weak Frankish monarchy a dominance that became especially threatening after Duke William conquered England in 1066, giving him a royal crown.Despite this crown, William the Conqueror and his royal successors remained dukes of Normandy, with feudal obligations to their overlord, the king of France. This naturally fostered an ongoing hostility between the French and English crowns that, as McAuliffe convincingly shows, became ever more explosive as the strength and territorial holdings of the English monarchs grew. Conflict erupted regularly over the years, and Eleanor of Aquitaine s desertion of one camp for the other only added fuel to the long-simmering feud. McAuliffe takes the reader back to this dramatic era, providing the fascinating background and context for this clash of crowns. She offers colorful insights into Richard Lionheart and Eleanor of Aquitaine as well as lesser-known French and English monarchs, especially Philip II of France. Philip (later called Philip Augustus) proved a determined opponent of Richard Lionheart, and their cut-throat rivalry not only created fatal divisions within the Third Crusade, but also culminated in an explosive faceoff at Richard s newly built Chateau-Gaillard, the seemingly impregnable gateway to empire. The outcome would shape the course of English and French history for centuries to come.
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