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Crumbled shells of mosques in Iraq, the fall of the World Trade Center towers on September 11: when architectural totems such as these are destroyed by conflicts and the ravages of war, more than mere buildings are at stake. The author highlights a range of wars and conflicts in which the destruction of architecture was pivotal.

Charting Hawksmoor's career and the decline of his reputation, Owen Hopkins offers fresh interpretations of many of his famous works - notably his three East End churches - and shows how over their history Hawksmoor's buildings have been ignored, abused, altered, recovered and celebrated.

Seal by Victoria Dickenson explores the natural and cultural history of an animal that has piqued and delighted human interest since ancient times, from their role in Roman spectacles to their frequent inhabitation of animal rescue centers today.

Thoroughly illustrated, bursting with historical detail and accessibly written, this cultural and natural history of the beetle is sure to change the way readers think about their relationship with these ancient, enduringly captivating animals.

The recent retirement of Fidel Castro turned the world's attention towards the island nation of Cuba and the question of what its future holds. Amid the talk and hypothesizing, it is worth taking a moment to consider how Cuba reached this point. The author provides this with his incisive history of Cuba since 1959.

Horror films revel in taking viewers into shadowy places where evil resides, whether it is a house, a graveyard or a dark forest. This title leads us inside these haunted spaces to explore them and the monstrous antagonists who dwell there.

Caspar David Friedrich (1774 1840), the greatest painter of the Romantic movement in Germany, was perhaps Europe's first truly modern artist. This title offers a comprehensive account of this most fascinating of nineteenth-century masters.

New in the Critical Lives series, this is the first new biography of Walter Benjamin in more than a decade.

Hailed as the saviour' of Venetian painting by Jacob Burckhardt and declared by Albrecht Durer to be the foremost painter of the city, Giovanni Bellini is a pivotal figure in the development of Italian Renaissance art. This title charts the trajectory of Bellini's career, highlighting the works that established his influence in the Renaissance.

Since its inception the world of cinema has embraced the image of the child and both extended and challenged its representations. This title explores the complex and adventure of childhood on screen and examines how the child in film has been used to embody the aspirations and anxieties of modern life.

Provides a persuasive account of the forces, conflicts and debates that have underpinned the emergence of something we effortlessly refer to as the 'modern interior'. This title focuses on the realities as well as concepts of the modern interior, whether in the hands of professional decorators and designers, or in those of its amateur inhabitants.

As well as much-needed electricity, dams generate extremes of emotion. Traditionally, dams have facilitated hydraulic civilizations such as those in the Nile Valley, China and Mesopotamia, and, in the twentieth century, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Yet with the proliferation of dams there are now more than 40,000 large dams worldwide opposition and support can be measured in equal proportion. Their outstanding design and construction, often in inhospitable conditions, is representative of the skills of their engineers, yet others do not see such beauty in the taming' of rivers. In 1998 the continuing controversy led to the forming of the World Commission on Dams to seek a meeting of minds. "e;Dam"e;, a new addition to Reaktion's "e;Objekt"e; series, traces the development of dams from the Industrial Revolution to the present day through a number of themes both successes and failures including the extension of the design teams forming an alliance between engineering, architecture, landscape architecture and ecology. A profusely illustrated exploration of a previously neglected subject, this book is neither a polemic against dams nor a defence of their proliferation.It offers a fresh and much-needed account of their design, construction and function, which will appeal to general readers and those interested in environmental policy, history and civil engineering.

An exploration of Gothic's contemporary face, from the excesses of the Chapman brothers to fashions for piercing, tattooing and body modification, and from the postmodern freak shows of Joel-Peter Witkin's photography to David Lynch's films

Film and music belong together; classics like Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" (1927) and Mike Nichols' "The Graduate" (1967) are renowned for their brilliant soundtracks. But what exactly is film music? This title traces the history of music in film and discusses central theoretical questions concerning its narrative and psychological functions.

A comprehensive study of the cinema of Turkey. It deals with Turkish quest for a modern identity in a world where borders, attitudes and people themselves are shifting and relocating.

A close account of the famous 'Nordic' or 'Scandinavian' model of politics and policy, which emphasizes consensus and compromise over the opposition and fault-finding found in most Western political systems.

A timely history of Korea, a country divided until recently by the last active 'cold war' frontier, yet whose common historical and cultural links remain strong

A unique, accessible account of the philosophy of fashion, by the author of the highly successful A Philosophy of Boredom

An informative and lively account of 'retro', the fashion for re-using styles, fashions, looks and sounds of the past

Redolent of everything sensual and hedonistic, chocolate is synonymous with our idea of indulgence. It is adored around the world and has been since the Spanish first encountered cocoa beans in South America in the sixteenth century. This title explores the origins and growth of this almost universal obsession.

From the colourful abstraction of the Rietveld chair to the dry wit of the 'milkbottle lamp' by design cooperative Droog, modern design in the Netherlands has always been a hotbed of experimentation. This book takes a look not just at designs made in the Netherlands, but behind the works created throughout the twentieth century and beyond.

The picture that usually comes to mind when we think of Greek architecture is one of classical temples and ancient sites. This book takes a look at the Greece of reality rather than of the imagination the buildings constructed since the establishment of the modern Greek state.

A concise, readable account of the life and work of Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of the greatest and most original philosophers of the twentieth century

Explores the contested history of art and nationalism in the tumultuous last decades of British rule in India. With a fascinating array of art works, this book throws much light on a previously neglected strand of modern art and introduces the work of artists who are little known in Europe or America.

Over the years the popularity of Japanese food in the West has increased immeasurably. This book explores the origins of Japanese cuisine as we know it today, investigating the transformations and developments food culture in Japan has undergone since the late nineteenth century.

A timely comparative analysis of cities in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Singapore, and in particular the rapid process of expansion and modernization they are currently experiencing.

In contemporary society, the cult of celebrity is inescapable. Anyone can be turned into a celebrity, and anything can be made into a celebrity event. This title brings together celebrated figures from the arts, sports, politics and other public spheres, from O J Simpson and Marilyn Monroe to Hitler and David Bowie.

Romania occupies a unique position on the map of Eastern Europe. It is a country that presents many paradoxes. This book examines this land's development from the Middle Ages to modern times, delineating its culture, history, language, politics and ethnic identity.

Written on the Body surveys the history of the tattoo in Europe and North America from Antiquity to the present. While the subject of tattooing has previously been approached from the viewpoints of anthropology, sociology and cultural studies, this book sets the practice into a historical perspective.

Mining in World History deals with the history of mining and smelting from the Renaissance to the present day, drawing out, in an engaging and fast-paced fashion, the interplay of personalities, politics and technology which have together shaped the metallurgical industries over the last 500 years.