Umar F. Abd‐Allah
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195187281
- eISBN:
- 9780199784875
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195187288.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter begins with a description of Webb's move to Chicago where he worked as a jeweler. Webb married Laura Conger in Chicago on May 4, 1870, but she disappeared the night of the Great Fire. It ...
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This chapter begins with a description of Webb's move to Chicago where he worked as a jeweler. Webb married Laura Conger in Chicago on May 4, 1870, but she disappeared the night of the Great Fire. It then focuses on his move moved to Unionville, Missouri, where he joined the Unionville Republican as coeditor and coproprietor in partnership with the paper's founder, W. T. O'Bryant. The chapter then describes his life in St. Joseph and St. Louis, Missouri.Less
This chapter begins with a description of Webb's move to Chicago where he worked as a jeweler. Webb married Laura Conger in Chicago on May 4, 1870, but she disappeared the night of the Great Fire. It then focuses on his move moved to Unionville, Missouri, where he joined the Unionville Republican as coeditor and coproprietor in partnership with the paper's founder, W. T. O'Bryant. The chapter then describes his life in St. Joseph and St. Louis, Missouri.
Ronald Hutton
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198203926
- eISBN:
- 9780191676048
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198203926.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History, History of Religion
The years 1658–67 form one of the most vital and eventful periods in English history, witnessing the Plague, the Great Fire of London, the naval wars against the Dutch, and, above all, the ...
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The years 1658–67 form one of the most vital and eventful periods in English history, witnessing the Plague, the Great Fire of London, the naval wars against the Dutch, and, above all, the transformation of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth into the Restoration monarchy of Charles II. This book is a detailed study of the period and returns to nearly all the extant manuscript sources and reworks every issue afresh. The result is an absorbing and perceptive account of national experience as government policy changed, influenced by the interaction of central concerns, local perspectives, and the various social, political, and religious groups.Less
The years 1658–67 form one of the most vital and eventful periods in English history, witnessing the Plague, the Great Fire of London, the naval wars against the Dutch, and, above all, the transformation of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth into the Restoration monarchy of Charles II. This book is a detailed study of the period and returns to nearly all the extant manuscript sources and reworks every issue afresh. The result is an absorbing and perceptive account of national experience as government policy changed, influenced by the interaction of central concerns, local perspectives, and the various social, political, and religious groups.
Martin Schöneld
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195132182
- eISBN:
- 9780199786336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195132181.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter explores Kant’s studies from 1754 to 1757, the application of his dynamic perspectives to fire, tides, the Earth’s rotation, climate, winds, and earthquakes. Section 1 surveys the ...
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This chapter explores Kant’s studies from 1754 to 1757, the application of his dynamic perspectives to fire, tides, the Earth’s rotation, climate, winds, and earthquakes. Section 1 surveys the background of Kant’s efforts in the 1750s, such as how his earthquake papers relate to the Lisbon tsunami (1755), and describes his co-discovery of sea wind patterns and his discovery of the monsoon dynamics. Section 2 examines Kant’s study of the fate of Earth’s rotation (1754) and its correct determination of the dynamic interplay among lunar period, tidal forces, oceanic friction, and the long-term slowdown of Earth’s rotation. Section 3 discusses Kant’s Master’s Thesis (1755), his chemical conjectures on fire, and his attempt to clarify the spatial energy field, the ether. Section 4 examines Kant’s qualitative approach to cosmological questions and his heuristic reliance on analogical reasoning.Less
This chapter explores Kant’s studies from 1754 to 1757, the application of his dynamic perspectives to fire, tides, the Earth’s rotation, climate, winds, and earthquakes. Section 1 surveys the background of Kant’s efforts in the 1750s, such as how his earthquake papers relate to the Lisbon tsunami (1755), and describes his co-discovery of sea wind patterns and his discovery of the monsoon dynamics. Section 2 examines Kant’s study of the fate of Earth’s rotation (1754) and its correct determination of the dynamic interplay among lunar period, tidal forces, oceanic friction, and the long-term slowdown of Earth’s rotation. Section 3 discusses Kant’s Master’s Thesis (1755), his chemical conjectures on fire, and his attempt to clarify the spatial energy field, the ether. Section 4 examines Kant’s qualitative approach to cosmological questions and his heuristic reliance on analogical reasoning.
William Kostlevy
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195377842
- eISBN:
- 9780199777204
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195377842.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
In 1905, the MCA acquired the Fountain Spring House, an old resort hotel in Waukesha Wisconsin. Rejecting private property the MCA insisted that all true Christians would give up their possessions. ...
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In 1905, the MCA acquired the Fountain Spring House, an old resort hotel in Waukesha Wisconsin. Rejecting private property the MCA insisted that all true Christians would give up their possessions. With F. M. Messenger, an experienced textile mill superintendent in charge, the MCA sought to duplicate the early Christian practice of having all things in common. Worship especially music was central in the creation of an authentic communal society. Louis Mitchel and W. T. Pettengill, at times working closely with famed African American gospel song composer Thoro Harris, played a key role in building community solidarity. Several noted revivals attracted new members including one in Crandon Wisconsin. Others broke with the MCA including Alma White a close associate since 1901.Less
In 1905, the MCA acquired the Fountain Spring House, an old resort hotel in Waukesha Wisconsin. Rejecting private property the MCA insisted that all true Christians would give up their possessions. With F. M. Messenger, an experienced textile mill superintendent in charge, the MCA sought to duplicate the early Christian practice of having all things in common. Worship especially music was central in the creation of an authentic communal society. Louis Mitchel and W. T. Pettengill, at times working closely with famed African American gospel song composer Thoro Harris, played a key role in building community solidarity. Several noted revivals attracted new members including one in Crandon Wisconsin. Others broke with the MCA including Alma White a close associate since 1901.
Peter Hinds
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264430
- eISBN:
- 9780191733994
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264430.003.0011
- Subject:
- Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature
This chapter discusses the close association of Catholics with fire and the firing of cities. It looks particularly at the resonant memory of the 1666 Great Fire. The chapter considers the Monument ...
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This chapter discusses the close association of Catholics with fire and the firing of cities. It looks particularly at the resonant memory of the 1666 Great Fire. The chapter considers the Monument that was erected to commemorate this disaster, and also studies the controversial inscriptions that were added to its base by London's Common Council in 1681.Less
This chapter discusses the close association of Catholics with fire and the firing of cities. It looks particularly at the resonant memory of the 1666 Great Fire. The chapter considers the Monument that was erected to commemorate this disaster, and also studies the controversial inscriptions that were added to its base by London's Common Council in 1681.
Gregory L. Simon
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520292802
- eISBN:
- 9780520966161
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520292802.001.0001
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Environmental Geography
This book investigates the ongoing politics, folly, and avarice shaping the production of increasingly widespread yet dangerous suburban and exurban landscapes. The 1991 Oakland Hills Tunnel Fire is ...
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This book investigates the ongoing politics, folly, and avarice shaping the production of increasingly widespread yet dangerous suburban and exurban landscapes. The 1991 Oakland Hills Tunnel Fire is used as a starting point to better understand these complex social-environmental processes. The Tunnel Fire is the most destructive fire—in terms of structures lost—in California history. More than 3,000 residential structures burned and 25 lives were lost. Although this fire occurred in Oakland and Berkeley, others like it sear through landscapes in California and the American West that have experienced urban growth and development within areas historically prone to fire. The book blends environmental history, political ecology, and science studies to closely examine the Tunnel Fire within a broader historical and spatial context of regional economic development and natural-resource management, such as the widespread planting of eucalyptus trees as an exotic lure for homeowners and the creation of hillside neighborhoods for tax revenue—decisions that produced communities with increased vulnerability to fire. The book demonstrates how in Oakland a drive for affluence led to a state of vulnerability for rich and poor alike that has only been exacerbated by the rebuilding of neighborhoods after the fire. Despite these troubling trends, the text illustrates how many popular and scientific debates on fire limit the scope and efficacy of policy responses. These risky yet profitable developments (what the book refers to as the Incendiary), as well as proposed strategies for challenging them, are discussed in the context of urbanizing areas around the American West and hold global applicability within hazard-prone areas.Less
This book investigates the ongoing politics, folly, and avarice shaping the production of increasingly widespread yet dangerous suburban and exurban landscapes. The 1991 Oakland Hills Tunnel Fire is used as a starting point to better understand these complex social-environmental processes. The Tunnel Fire is the most destructive fire—in terms of structures lost—in California history. More than 3,000 residential structures burned and 25 lives were lost. Although this fire occurred in Oakland and Berkeley, others like it sear through landscapes in California and the American West that have experienced urban growth and development within areas historically prone to fire. The book blends environmental history, political ecology, and science studies to closely examine the Tunnel Fire within a broader historical and spatial context of regional economic development and natural-resource management, such as the widespread planting of eucalyptus trees as an exotic lure for homeowners and the creation of hillside neighborhoods for tax revenue—decisions that produced communities with increased vulnerability to fire. The book demonstrates how in Oakland a drive for affluence led to a state of vulnerability for rich and poor alike that has only been exacerbated by the rebuilding of neighborhoods after the fire. Despite these troubling trends, the text illustrates how many popular and scientific debates on fire limit the scope and efficacy of policy responses. These risky yet profitable developments (what the book refers to as the Incendiary), as well as proposed strategies for challenging them, are discussed in the context of urbanizing areas around the American West and hold global applicability within hazard-prone areas.
Steven Belletto
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199826889
- eISBN:
- 9780199932382
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199826889.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature, American, 20th Century Literature
Vladimir Nabokov has been taken by many readers to be pugnaciously apolitical in his work—indeed, until very recently, few critics have thought of Nabokov as engaging political questions at all. ...
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Vladimir Nabokov has been taken by many readers to be pugnaciously apolitical in his work—indeed, until very recently, few critics have thought of Nabokov as engaging political questions at all. Chapter three shows, by contrast, how attention to chance changes our sense of Nabokov’s aesthetic project as it demonstrates a politics folded into the very texture of his writing. Reading Pale Fire (1962) in a Cold War context, the chapter suggests that far from being only an apolitical novel of wordplay, it in fact intervenes in mid-century controversies about Communism and homosexuality. By focusing on the way that one important character, Charles Kinbote, treats chance versus its presence in the novel as a whole, this chapter argues that Pale Fire demonstrates the absurdity of what I term the homophobic narrative (the tendency to equate homosexual people with everything from perverts to political traitors) which works by foreclosing chance in ways that echo the denial of chance by those totalitarian regimes haunting Kinbote’s own tale.Less
Vladimir Nabokov has been taken by many readers to be pugnaciously apolitical in his work—indeed, until very recently, few critics have thought of Nabokov as engaging political questions at all. Chapter three shows, by contrast, how attention to chance changes our sense of Nabokov’s aesthetic project as it demonstrates a politics folded into the very texture of his writing. Reading Pale Fire (1962) in a Cold War context, the chapter suggests that far from being only an apolitical novel of wordplay, it in fact intervenes in mid-century controversies about Communism and homosexuality. By focusing on the way that one important character, Charles Kinbote, treats chance versus its presence in the novel as a whole, this chapter argues that Pale Fire demonstrates the absurdity of what I term the homophobic narrative (the tendency to equate homosexual people with everything from perverts to political traitors) which works by foreclosing chance in ways that echo the denial of chance by those totalitarian regimes haunting Kinbote’s own tale.
Marion Elizabeth Rodgers
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195072389
- eISBN:
- 9780199787982
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195072389.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This chapter gives new information about the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, which destroyed more than 140 acres and left 35,000 Baltimoreans jobless. The event ranks with the Chicago fire of 1871 and ...
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This chapter gives new information about the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, which destroyed more than 140 acres and left 35,000 Baltimoreans jobless. The event ranks with the Chicago fire of 1871 and the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 as among the great disasters of American history. The press was hurt most among all the city's industries, but was the first to recover. One of the newspapers cited for their contributions during the crisis was Mencken's Baltimore Herald. The Baltimore Fire also bound Mencken more strongly to the city of his birth and determined the future course of his career, away from writing poetry and fiction and to the choice he had been struggling to make for himself.Less
This chapter gives new information about the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, which destroyed more than 140 acres and left 35,000 Baltimoreans jobless. The event ranks with the Chicago fire of 1871 and the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 as among the great disasters of American history. The press was hurt most among all the city's industries, but was the first to recover. One of the newspapers cited for their contributions during the crisis was Mencken's Baltimore Herald. The Baltimore Fire also bound Mencken more strongly to the city of his birth and determined the future course of his career, away from writing poetry and fiction and to the choice he had been struggling to make for himself.
Robert W. Righter
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195149470
- eISBN:
- 9780199788934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195149470.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
Two leaders emerged as San Francisco pursued the valley: Mayor James Phelan and naturalist John Muir. Both were determined and led strong constituencies, and each held competing views of the meaning ...
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Two leaders emerged as San Francisco pursued the valley: Mayor James Phelan and naturalist John Muir. Both were determined and led strong constituencies, and each held competing views of the meaning of progress. Phelan was convinced a great dam symbolized human determination and ingenuity, and would enhance nature. Muir was skeptical that humans could improve on nature, and certainly not in the mountain sanctuary of Hetch Hetchy. John Muir and the Sierra Club held the upper hand until the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 intervened to change everything. The prostrate city with four square miles of its heart in smoldering ruins became an object of both pity and charity. Who could deny the city its desire for abundant water? Furthermore, many blamed the fire on the privately-owned Spring Valley Water Company. San Francisco reapplied for a permit. With the support of US Forest Service chief Gifford Pinchot and the sympathy of Secretary of the Interior James Garfield, the city felt assured that soon its engineers would be damming the Hetch Hetchy Valley and building an aqueduct to transport the water to the city.Less
Two leaders emerged as San Francisco pursued the valley: Mayor James Phelan and naturalist John Muir. Both were determined and led strong constituencies, and each held competing views of the meaning of progress. Phelan was convinced a great dam symbolized human determination and ingenuity, and would enhance nature. Muir was skeptical that humans could improve on nature, and certainly not in the mountain sanctuary of Hetch Hetchy. John Muir and the Sierra Club held the upper hand until the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 intervened to change everything. The prostrate city with four square miles of its heart in smoldering ruins became an object of both pity and charity. Who could deny the city its desire for abundant water? Furthermore, many blamed the fire on the privately-owned Spring Valley Water Company. San Francisco reapplied for a permit. With the support of US Forest Service chief Gifford Pinchot and the sympathy of Secretary of the Interior James Garfield, the city felt assured that soon its engineers would be damming the Hetch Hetchy Valley and building an aqueduct to transport the water to the city.
Joseph McBride
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813142623
- eISBN:
- 9780813145242
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813142623.003.0018
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter investigates the camerawork in Hawks’ films and the director’s working relationships with cameramen. Hawks comments on cameraman Gregg Toland’s work in Ball of Fire. He also discusses ...
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This chapter investigates the camerawork in Hawks’ films and the director’s working relationships with cameramen. Hawks comments on cameraman Gregg Toland’s work in Ball of Fire. He also discusses his action sequences, his limited number of extreme close shots, and his use of color and lighting. Films discussed include Ball of Fire, El Dorado, and Red River.Less
This chapter investigates the camerawork in Hawks’ films and the director’s working relationships with cameramen. Hawks comments on cameraman Gregg Toland’s work in Ball of Fire. He also discusses his action sequences, his limited number of extreme close shots, and his use of color and lighting. Films discussed include Ball of Fire, El Dorado, and Red River.
Joseph McBride
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813142623
- eISBN:
- 9780813145242
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813142623.003.0031
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Hawks discusses the challenges of incorporating music into his pictures. He talks about working with several composers over the course of his career, his fondness for jazz, and his choice to cast ...
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Hawks discusses the challenges of incorporating music into his pictures. He talks about working with several composers over the course of his career, his fondness for jazz, and his choice to cast pop-star Ricky Nelson in Rio Bravo. He also speaks about the production of the musical numbers in Gentleman Prefer Blondes.Less
Hawks discusses the challenges of incorporating music into his pictures. He talks about working with several composers over the course of his career, his fondness for jazz, and his choice to cast pop-star Ricky Nelson in Rio Bravo. He also speaks about the production of the musical numbers in Gentleman Prefer Blondes.
Peter D. G. Thomas
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205449
- eISBN:
- 9780191676642
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205449.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter discusses John Wilkes' early life, including his family background and his marriage to Mary Mead. It looks at Wilkes' introduction to the Hell Fire Club and his friendship with Thomas ...
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This chapter discusses John Wilkes' early life, including his family background and his marriage to Mary Mead. It looks at Wilkes' introduction to the Hell Fire Club and his friendship with Thomas Potter, who was responsible for Wilkes' election to Parliament. The chapter also discusses the first steps Wilkes took to become a prominent political figure, including securing his election to one of the seats for Aylesbury.Less
This chapter discusses John Wilkes' early life, including his family background and his marriage to Mary Mead. It looks at Wilkes' introduction to the Hell Fire Club and his friendship with Thomas Potter, who was responsible for Wilkes' election to Parliament. The chapter also discusses the first steps Wilkes took to become a prominent political figure, including securing his election to one of the seats for Aylesbury.
Stephen J. Dain and Laura E. Hughes
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198525301
- eISBN:
- 9780191584947
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198525301.003.0036
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience
This chapter describes a survey of colour contingent tasks with regard to colours used, redundancy of coding, and significance of error, both safety and financial. From this, researchers identified ...
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This chapter describes a survey of colour contingent tasks with regard to colours used, redundancy of coding, and significance of error, both safety and financial. From this, researchers identified the most critical issues on the basis that the worst case sets the colour vision testing and pass criteria needed. This was carried out at the New South Wales Fire Brigades Training College and selected fire stations in Sydney with the assistance of fire-fighters at those locations.Less
This chapter describes a survey of colour contingent tasks with regard to colours used, redundancy of coding, and significance of error, both safety and financial. From this, researchers identified the most critical issues on the basis that the worst case sets the colour vision testing and pass criteria needed. This was carried out at the New South Wales Fire Brigades Training College and selected fire stations in Sydney with the assistance of fire-fighters at those locations.
Adam Mack
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039188
- eISBN:
- 9780252097225
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039188.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
A hundred years and more ago, a walk down a Chicago street invited an assault on the senses. Untiring hawkers shouted from every corner. The manure from thousands of horses lay on streets pooled with ...
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A hundred years and more ago, a walk down a Chicago street invited an assault on the senses. Untiring hawkers shouted from every corner. The manure from thousands of horses lay on streets pooled with molasses and puddled with kitchen grease. Odors from a river gelatinous and lumpy with all manner of foulness mingled with the all-pervading stench of the stockyard slaughterhouses. This book lets fresh air into the sensory history of Chicago in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by examining five case studies: the Chicago River, the Great Fire, the Pullman Strike of 1894, the publication of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, and the rise and fall of the White City amusement park. The book's vivid recounting of the smells, sound and noise, and tactile miseries of city life reveals how input from the five human senses influenced the history of class, race, and ethnicity in the city. At the same time, it transports readers to an era before modern refrigeration and sanitation, when to step outside was to be overwhelmed by the odor and roar of a great city in progress.Less
A hundred years and more ago, a walk down a Chicago street invited an assault on the senses. Untiring hawkers shouted from every corner. The manure from thousands of horses lay on streets pooled with molasses and puddled with kitchen grease. Odors from a river gelatinous and lumpy with all manner of foulness mingled with the all-pervading stench of the stockyard slaughterhouses. This book lets fresh air into the sensory history of Chicago in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by examining five case studies: the Chicago River, the Great Fire, the Pullman Strike of 1894, the publication of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, and the rise and fall of the White City amusement park. The book's vivid recounting of the smells, sound and noise, and tactile miseries of city life reveals how input from the five human senses influenced the history of class, race, and ethnicity in the city. At the same time, it transports readers to an era before modern refrigeration and sanitation, when to step outside was to be overwhelmed by the odor and roar of a great city in progress.
Emma Bridges
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199279678
- eISBN:
- 9780191707261
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279678.003.0017
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
One artistic genre that has received comparatively little attention in studies of the reception of ancient history is that of the historical novel. This chapter shows that literary snobbery regarding ...
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One artistic genre that has received comparatively little attention in studies of the reception of ancient history is that of the historical novel. This chapter shows that literary snobbery regarding novels concerning the Persian Wars can to some extent be justified — many 20th-century novelistic depictions of the conflict with Persia read simply as exercises in reproducing the Persian Wars topoi with little imagination and few attempts to engage the reader in a believable representation of the historical past. There are, however, some notable exceptions to such sanitized fictionalizations. The chapter focuses on Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire (1998). This version of the Thermopylae story stands out largely because of Pressfield's refusal to shrink from dealing with many of the less appealing aspects of Spartan society and military training, as well as his vivid imagining of the horrors of war and the effects of conflict on the mentality of its very real human participants.Less
One artistic genre that has received comparatively little attention in studies of the reception of ancient history is that of the historical novel. This chapter shows that literary snobbery regarding novels concerning the Persian Wars can to some extent be justified — many 20th-century novelistic depictions of the conflict with Persia read simply as exercises in reproducing the Persian Wars topoi with little imagination and few attempts to engage the reader in a believable representation of the historical past. There are, however, some notable exceptions to such sanitized fictionalizations. The chapter focuses on Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire (1998). This version of the Thermopylae story stands out largely because of Pressfield's refusal to shrink from dealing with many of the less appealing aspects of Spartan society and military training, as well as his vivid imagining of the horrors of war and the effects of conflict on the mentality of its very real human participants.
Brain Boyd
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231158572
- eISBN:
- 9780231530293
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231158572.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
In this chapter, the author talks about his unique association with Vladimir Nabokov. He recalls reading the Nabokov novel Lolita for the first time and how it has mystified him. He also read Pale ...
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In this chapter, the author talks about his unique association with Vladimir Nabokov. He recalls reading the Nabokov novel Lolita for the first time and how it has mystified him. He also read Pale Fire, Ada, and the autobiography Speak, Memory. By the time he was seventeen and writing on Pale Fire the author says he was already growing a patchy beard. Twenty-five years later, he decided to shave it off and was surprised to see in the mirror what seemed to be his father's face looking back in surprise at the resemblance. John Shade in the poem “Pale Fire” writes about the inspiration that comes to him as he shaves, and as the author now shaves each morning, that passage from canto 4 will be more likely than not to spring to his mind. That's how close his Nabokov can be.Less
In this chapter, the author talks about his unique association with Vladimir Nabokov. He recalls reading the Nabokov novel Lolita for the first time and how it has mystified him. He also read Pale Fire, Ada, and the autobiography Speak, Memory. By the time he was seventeen and writing on Pale Fire the author says he was already growing a patchy beard. Twenty-five years later, he decided to shave it off and was surprised to see in the mirror what seemed to be his father's face looking back in surprise at the resemblance. John Shade in the poem “Pale Fire” writes about the inspiration that comes to him as he shaves, and as the author now shaves each morning, that passage from canto 4 will be more likely than not to spring to his mind. That's how close his Nabokov can be.
Gregory L. Simon
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520292802
- eISBN:
- 9780520966161
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520292802.003.0011
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Environmental Geography
This concluding chapter begins by using the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona to illustrate the real risks and human tragedies that arise when fighting fires that threaten residential communities. The ...
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This concluding chapter begins by using the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona to illustrate the real risks and human tragedies that arise when fighting fires that threaten residential communities. The disaster reminds us that civil society, politicians, city planners, and private developers among others should no longer conform to fiscal pressures and incentives at the metropolitan fringe as if there were no consequences. Collectively these groups must stop merely treating the symptom of the problem by putting out small fires within the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Instead we need to address the root causes of the firestorm itself, by treating western WUI areas like a patient—the Incendiary—through a comprehensive assessment of their backgrounds, histories, underlying drivers, internal governing mechanisms, core characteristics, and connections to externally influential forces. The chapter also outlines strategies that will help initiate a conversation about how to shift from current tactics that grapple with WUI symptoms to more innovative approaches that directly tackle affluence-vulnerability interface processes.Less
This concluding chapter begins by using the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona to illustrate the real risks and human tragedies that arise when fighting fires that threaten residential communities. The disaster reminds us that civil society, politicians, city planners, and private developers among others should no longer conform to fiscal pressures and incentives at the metropolitan fringe as if there were no consequences. Collectively these groups must stop merely treating the symptom of the problem by putting out small fires within the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Instead we need to address the root causes of the firestorm itself, by treating western WUI areas like a patient—the Incendiary—through a comprehensive assessment of their backgrounds, histories, underlying drivers, internal governing mechanisms, core characteristics, and connections to externally influential forces. The chapter also outlines strategies that will help initiate a conversation about how to shift from current tactics that grapple with WUI symptoms to more innovative approaches that directly tackle affluence-vulnerability interface processes.
Feng Bangyan and Nyaw Mee Kau
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789888028702
- eISBN:
- 9789882206946
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888028702.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
Toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, foreign insurers in China began to open up to investments from local merchants. However, Chinese investors were entitled only to profits and not voting rights or ...
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Toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, foreign insurers in China began to open up to investments from local merchants. However, Chinese investors were entitled only to profits and not voting rights or any voice in management. In other words, these insurance companies were lopsided joint ventures at best and far from equal partnerships. The first foreign insurer that solicited Chinese investments was Union Insurance, which, when Dent & Co. founded it in 1830, had a significant capital injection from some Guangzhou business investors. In 1868, Jardine Matheson established the Hong Kong Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. Based on existing records, the first Chinese-controlled insurance firm was founded by a Shanghai trading firm with close ties to Jardine Matheson. Although that firm covered the cargo shipments of Chinese firms and little else, it served to stir up some competition for the foreign insurers.Less
Toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, foreign insurers in China began to open up to investments from local merchants. However, Chinese investors were entitled only to profits and not voting rights or any voice in management. In other words, these insurance companies were lopsided joint ventures at best and far from equal partnerships. The first foreign insurer that solicited Chinese investments was Union Insurance, which, when Dent & Co. founded it in 1830, had a significant capital injection from some Guangzhou business investors. In 1868, Jardine Matheson established the Hong Kong Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. Based on existing records, the first Chinese-controlled insurance firm was founded by a Shanghai trading firm with close ties to Jardine Matheson. Although that firm covered the cargo shipments of Chinese firms and little else, it served to stir up some competition for the foreign insurers.
Feng Bangyan and Nyaw Mee Kau
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789888028702
- eISBN:
- 9789882206946
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888028702.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
The war nearly destroyed a century of painstaking effort among British firms in Hong Kong and China. The colony's insurance sector was not spared the havoc. In face of imminent invasion, foreign ...
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The war nearly destroyed a century of painstaking effort among British firms in Hong Kong and China. The colony's insurance sector was not spared the havoc. In face of imminent invasion, foreign insurers made plans to suspend business and retreat from Hong Kong. In January 1941, Union Insurance moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to Sydney, as well as Canton Insurance. The relocation decision had been approved by the board of directors only a year before. In hindsight, the board's chairman, J. Dickson Leach, affirmed that this decision helped save the company. Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Company, once Union's primary source of re-insurance business from Japan, stepped up as agent for the company in Hong Kong. The insurance sector ground to a halt. In August 1945, the Japanese surrendered and the war ended. Hong Kong's postwar economy recovered, and businesses flourished. This ushered in a new phase in the development of the insurance industry.Less
The war nearly destroyed a century of painstaking effort among British firms in Hong Kong and China. The colony's insurance sector was not spared the havoc. In face of imminent invasion, foreign insurers made plans to suspend business and retreat from Hong Kong. In January 1941, Union Insurance moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to Sydney, as well as Canton Insurance. The relocation decision had been approved by the board of directors only a year before. In hindsight, the board's chairman, J. Dickson Leach, affirmed that this decision helped save the company. Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Company, once Union's primary source of re-insurance business from Japan, stepped up as agent for the company in Hong Kong. The insurance sector ground to a halt. In August 1945, the Japanese surrendered and the war ended. Hong Kong's postwar economy recovered, and businesses flourished. This ushered in a new phase in the development of the insurance industry.
I. G. Simmons
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748621583
- eISBN:
- 9780748670765
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748621583.003.0002
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
For about 99% of the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens, we have been gathers and hunters. This-life way has largely disappeared except in a few marginal environments but carried distinctively low ...
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For about 99% of the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens, we have been gathers and hunters. This-life way has largely disappeared except in a few marginal environments but carried distinctively low population densities and environmental impacts. Energy access was restricted to solar capture through plants and animals but manipulation of the land and its populations might be achieved through the use of controlled fire. Most foragers lived in a cohesive world in which they did not perceive themselves as separate from their land and their resources: moose were good to eat and good to think. Much was dependent on a social structure with few hierarchies and a population kept below any notion of maximum carrying capacity. For many years regarded as ‘savages’ remnant groups are now usually treated with respect even as their livelihoods are taken away.Less
For about 99% of the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens, we have been gathers and hunters. This-life way has largely disappeared except in a few marginal environments but carried distinctively low population densities and environmental impacts. Energy access was restricted to solar capture through plants and animals but manipulation of the land and its populations might be achieved through the use of controlled fire. Most foragers lived in a cohesive world in which they did not perceive themselves as separate from their land and their resources: moose were good to eat and good to think. Much was dependent on a social structure with few hierarchies and a population kept below any notion of maximum carrying capacity. For many years regarded as ‘savages’ remnant groups are now usually treated with respect even as their livelihoods are taken away.
