500 Self-Portraits

Book Description

A new version of a Phaidon classic published in 1937, this evocative and fascinating book, now issued as a paperback, presents 500 of the world's greatest self-portraits, arranged in a simple chronological sequence from ancient times to the late twentieth century.

Customer Reviews:

A good collection.......2006-12-04

An interesting collection of self portraits commencing with Ni-Ankh-Ptah (c. 2350 BC) through to Maurizio Cattelan (1997). The selction provides an interesting chronology of how portraiture has changed over the years. I'm uncertain as to which edition the previous reader has, as my version has 10 self portraits by Rembrandt. I would have liked to have seen more portraits by recent artists as the variation in how to approach the modern portrait is extensive compared with say the 17th C. The reproductions are good and the quality of paper is also good. The introduction by Julian Bell is well written and could have even been expanded upon further. It provides an excellent overview of how portraiture and art in general have changed over the centuries. A worthy book to have on the shelf - lends itself to random browsing.

Six self- portraits of Rembrandt are not enough.......2006-11-01

This work is based on an earlier collection of self- portraits made by the scholar Ludwig Goldscheider. It contains many of the great works in the self-portrait including six self- portraits by the artist whose signature is written most prominently on this type of work, Rembrandt.
It is difficult to fault a work which has so many great paintings in it, but I do find a couple of problems with the volume. The introduction is small and inadequate and there is no explanatory text whatsoever. I also found disconcerting and unpleasant a number of the more recent paintings selected.
I would also point, to what it seems to me, is an inherent inadequacy of a book of this kind. Rembrandt teaches us that the true - self- portrait of an artist is a long series of self- portaits, is a history and a life of the person. The single self- portrait made of one time can show a moment of a life, can represent a person as they would be represented, but cannot tell us the whole life.
Six self- portraits of Rembrandt are not enough.

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Enrich your library
An Indispensible Art Library Addition
Simple but very satisfying

500 Self-Portraits
Julian Bell
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Criticism | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Themes | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Portraits | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0714839590

Amazon.com

Pensive, haughty, scruffy, scowling, clowning, vamping--artists have always reveled in the inventive freedom of portraying themselves. Younger painters lacking paying sitters often made good use of a mirror and a talent for making faces. Older painters--most famously, Rembrandt--searched beneath their own sagging flesh for the essence of a survivor.

Beginning with its reflective book jacket, which playfully inducts the reader into the ranks of self-portraitists, Five Hundred Self-Portraits is a delight for browsers. Works by famous and obscure artists from the Middle Ages to our own times are organized chronologically, one per page, in this compact volume. The early images demonstrate how self-portraiture evolved from walk-ons (the artist as a bystander in a Nativity scene, say) and occasional co-starring roles (the artist as St. Luke, drawing the Virgin Mary) to full-fledged personal appearances by the likes of Dürer and Leonardo.

More than half of the images in the book were painted (or drawn or etched or photographed) during the 19th and 20th centuries. The stiff decorum of earlier periods gave way to a romantic introspection that evolved into neurotic self-absorption and frank exhibitionism. From Gustave Courbet, posing languorously with eyes closed and blood-spotted collar as The Wounded Man, to Jenny Saville, gripping a thick roll of fat on her graffiti-scrawled nude body, artists of the past 150 years have developed a repertory of dramatic strategies for self-display. But few are as quietly effective as 18th-century painter Joshua Reynolds. He peers out at us, one hand shading his eyes, as if dazzled by the blaze of his own genius. --Cathy Curtis

Customer Reviews:

Enrich your library.......2003-03-14

I purchased this book as a gift for my father in law, an artist and it was very well recieved. I did not get to peruse it at my leisure becaue it was wrapped in plastic, but once I did I regretted not buying a copy for myself.

An Indispensible Art Library Addition.......2001-04-25

This small scale (though weighty) tome is a compact , wide-ranging survey of Western art in the most personal of terms - self portraits of artists both well known and obscure. The brief essay by Julian Bell sets the overture tone for this enlightening stroll through art history from 2350 BC to 1997 AD. And though we know well the self portraits of Rembrandt, Durer, van Gogh, Andy Warhol, and Cindy Sherman, it is a pleasure to explore the vast frescoes of the Middle Ages and the commissioned paintings of the Renaissance and find subtle artist self portraits in the crowd scenes! Another aspect of this important survey is the inclusion of women painters from history and recent past/present. We all know the stature of Artemisia Gentileschi, but who has had the pleasure of viewing Judith Leyster, Sofonisba Anguissola, Catharina van Hemessen, Elisabeth- Louise Vigee-Lebrun in context with Goya, Velasquez, Carravagio, Whistler, Ingre, Freud, Bacon, Saville, etc.? The reproductions are rich, intimate, often enhanced by well-cropped details if the painter's image is one face in a huge canvas. How better to take quietly study art development, technique, subject matter, social commentary than to slowly page though this engrossing collections of artists as they viewed themselves. Buy this book, before it goes out of print!

Simple but very satisfying.......2001-04-20

This is a simple book but very satisfying. There is very little text. The 6 page Introduction by Julian Bell is the only narrative but it is a wonderful introduction to the subject of self-portraiture in western art. Each picture has a brief caption that lists the artist, her/his birth and death dates, title and date, a brief description of materials and size, and the location of the original. The portraits are arranged in the book in rough chronological order. At the end of the book is an index by artist and a list of acknowledgements.

Each page consists of one self portrait as large as the page will allow with its caption description. One of the drawbacks to the book is that it is only 4.5" x 7", and the reproductions are small as a result. A larger format would have allowed for larger prints but would have cost more to produce.

Sadly, the work limits itself primarily to western art and I was left wondering about the role of self portraiture in African and Asian art. Outside minor limitations of physical size and scope of coverage, the book is exquisite candy to the eye and mind.

By century, the works break down as follows: 24th c. B.C.E. - 1; 9th c. - 1; 11th c. - 1; 12th c. - 1, 14th c. - 4; 15th c. - 35; 16th c. - 57; 17th c. - 78; 18th c. - 57; 19th c. - 89; 20th c. - 193. The compilers put all of an artists self portraits side by side. There are 10 Rembrandts, 4 Van Goghs, and 4 Picassos. There are also 45 self portraits by women.

Geographically, the artists are from 36 countries. 26 of these countries are in Europe, 4 are in the Western Hemisphere, 3 countries are in the Middle East, 2 are in Africa and one in Asia. The index in the back of the book lists the countries the artists were born in or worked in, as well as their occupations and specialties. The countries represented are Armenia, Austria, Belorussia, Bohemia, Britain, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, Finland, Flemish Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Moravia, The Netherlands, North Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine.

Book Description

This book provides an original and challenging answer to the question: 'Who were the Classical Greeks?' Paul Cartledge - 'one of the most theoretically alert, widely read and prolific of contemporary ancient historians' (TLS) - here examines the Greeks and their achievements in terms of their own self-image, mainly as it was presented by the supposedly objective historians: Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon. Many of our modern concepts as we understand them were invented by the Greeks: for example, democracy, theatre, philosophy, and history. Yet despite being our cultural ancestors in many ways, their legacy remains rooted in myth and the mental and material contexts of many of their achievements are deeply alien to our own ways of thinking and acting. The Greeks aims to explore in depth how the dominant group (adult, male, citizen) attempted, with limited success, to define themselves unambiguously in polar opposition to a whole series of 'Others' - non-Greeks, women, non-citizens, slaves and gods. This new edition contains an updated bibliography, a new chapter entitled 'Entr'acte: Others in Images and Images of Others', and a new afterword.

Customer Reviews:

Putting the Record Straight.......2006-04-08

This book is a set text on the MA in Classical Studies I am currently doing. It is certainly not an easy book (though his writing style is invigorating) and if you are looking for a text book merely eulogizing the Greeks then this is not the book for you. Cartledge sets out to examine the Greeks in terms of their culture and legacy under a number of headings and does it by examining each heading eg. Women, Slavery etc in terms of its exact opposite and its negative aspects as well as its positive ones. The chapter on Slavery is particularly good. It must be remembered that Cartledge is an academic, writing for academics and students taking various classic courses. This is not really a book for the general public. But if you have some interest or knowledge about Ancient Greece and want to find out more, then I can thoroughly recommend this book.

Misses the Overall Picture.......2004-07-17

Mr. Cartledge is a good researcher and he has a respectable writing style. But the problem with this work is that it fails to grasp the overall picture of the Ancient Greeks and their vast contribution to Western Culture. Opting instead to focus on their human faults instead of the inspiring ideals that they passed down to us Westerners; even if both the Greeks and us fall short in achieving them.

Reading Cartledge's tome I sensed that he was not being fair to these people and their contribution to human history. Sure the Greeks were at times in their history weary of some of their neighbors and even of each other. Then again most people would be if they had been invaded as often as the Greek city states were. This doesn't mean that they were xenophobes. If they were, ancient Greek trade and learning would not have flourished as it did because successful trade and learning involve human interaction.

The ancient Greeks were the first Western cosmopolitans, not xenophobes. They were unique, in that they were willing to consider what other cultures had to offer because they thought that they could potentially learn and benefit from them. The Ancient Greeks were in fact the first to recognize a common humanity in all people and had a critical introspection of themselves that distinguished them in their times. And we can still learn much from them today.

I did not get a sense of any of this from Mr. Cartledge. He misses the big picture in this book, even siting that the language of these ancients is dead. ??? I beg to differ. Modern Greek has evolved from proto-Greek and the katharevousa or formal Modern Greek is a revival of Classic Greek. Almost 20% of English comes from Greek and 43% of modern English medical terms also come from Greek. The language of these ancients is very much alive.

I got the impression that Mr. Cartledge wants to debunk the ancient Greeks and their ideals and that's a shame. There is still so much we can learn with and from these people today. Their insights into democracy, war, human nature and so much more can still benefit us today - considerably.

Book Description

In 1580 Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) presented a literary project to the public the type of wich had never before been introduced- a collection of Essays with himself as subject. Never before had a writer attempted a literary self-portrait, and in so doing Montaigne named and defined a new literary form, the essay. Brush's critical study of Essays examines the complex process of writing a self-portrait and showing the ways in which it is an entirely differnt enterprise from writing an autobiography. The author discusses how Montaigne revealed his "mind in motion," and the most remarkable feature of that mind, skepticism. He treats Montaigne's development of a conversational voice and explicates how Montaigne's intense self-examination became an evolutionary process which had consequences in his life and literature. The work concludes with a discussion of how Montaigne's self-assigned task of introspection included the formulation of a view of humanity and its ethics. Brush's work fills a gap in scholarship by critically examining the essential loci of the Essays, namely, the creation of a literary self-portrait. The book makes its points convincingly because of Brush's intimacy and command of the essays. Montaigne's works are cited in English translation, and the subject is presented in terms accessible to the non-specialist.

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500 Autorretratos / 500 Self-Portraits
Julian Bell
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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500 SELF-PORTRAITS
J B SHAW AND L GOLDSCHEIDER
Manufacturer: PHAIDON
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SAITVE

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500 Self-Portraits

Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 141766021X

The Greeks: A Portrait of Self and Others (OPUS)

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The View From Olympus
The perfect companion for the video
A lively, engaging, compelling story of Greek history.

The Greeks: A Portrait of Self and Others (OPUS)
Paul Cartledge
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Greece | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Ancient | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

The View From Olympus.......2001-09-07

This is a marvellous series of short essays on the leading figures of Greek life, from Homer to Sappho to Pericles (and his girlfriend) to Aristotle. In the tradition of classical Greek (as opposed to Hellenic) history, it ends with Alexander. A sort of extended "Who's Who" for the period.

The perfect companion for the video.......2000-12-25

Focusing in the lifes of remarkable Greeks, this series (book and video) makes the Greek civilization accessible to us. Indispensable to anybody interested in the Greek culture.

A lively, engaging, compelling story of Greek history........2000-03-04

The Greeks examines life in the ancient Hellenic world: an era when the foundations of modern science and politics were laid. Based on a three-hour PBS series airing February, this provides a lively story of Greek experience through the eyes and experiences of her heroes and heroines in an excellent, involving account which comes alive. Highly recommended as a strong alternative to the usual dry Greek history.

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Janos Scholz, musician and collector: 8 March to 28 May, 1980, the Snite Museum of Art, O'Shaughnessy Galleries, University of Notre Dame
Janos Scholz
Manufacturer: The University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006EFYS8

Book Description

This collection evokes the feeling of the west through images and stories of this incredibly beautiful and rugged landscape, it's flora, horses, cattle and people. Through a decade of photography spanning ten Western states, Stoecklein depicts the modern-day cowboy at work and at play, at sunrise, and sunset, in all kinds of weather.

Customer Reviews:

DON'T FENCE ME IN.......1999-12-16

Being raised in the lifestyle of dusty cowcamps located in Owyhee County, Idaho. I can truly appreciate and so will you, the realism and pride that David Stocklein has taken in compling this magnificient book. Photography and short stories of cowboy tradition, so real, you too, will wish you were a part of this unique and exciting land. Ira Walker, Chuck Hall, Herb Mink, Tom Hall and many more cowboys, will tell of family stories, first jobs, unique talents, special dogs, horses, mules and the people, who have made their lives interesting and memorable. This corner of the west has produced many fine men, you will get to know a few of them on a first hand basis. Gather round the fireplace, pull up a cozy chair and a light, as you will be reading through the dark hours. Once you pick up, "Don't Fence Me", you'll not put it down until your finished. At the end of the book, Stocklein includes closing pictures of assorted ranch families and cowboy groups. A final tribute to those who have rode their way through history atop a horse, all the while viewing Gods Country.

A book that captures the spirit of the American Cowboy.......1998-09-29

The first time I laid eyes on David Stoecklein's "Don't Fence Me In", I wanted to quit my job and move to a working ranch in Idaho. This book is full of breathtaking photos of the American Cowboy and the land he works on. Unfortunatly, the art work around the cover is an eyesore and some of the page layouts interfer with the Mr. Stoecklein's fine work. This book is for sure worth the money.

Excellent book - for reading, displaying, and dreaming!.......1998-06-06

This is an excellent and realistic book about cowboys, what's important to them, and the gorgeous Western US. The photography is breathtaking - makes you feel as though you're right there ropin' with 'em! The information about horses, cattle, land, family, and attitudes is also well-written. And the Cowboy Contract sets the stage for it all. If you love the West and everything about it - you should have this book!

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Salinas Valley (CA) (Images of America)
Margaret E. Clovis , and Monterey County Agricultural And Rural Life Museum
Manufacturer: Arcadia Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0738530484
Release Date: 2005-08-24

Book Description

The Salinas River meanders through the center of a long, lovely valley, sometimes ducking underground in summer, or diverting into canals to water fields that stretch away to the chiseled Santa Lucia Mountains. Memorialized by novelist John Steinbeck, and often called the salad bowl of the nation, Salinas Valley was the site of the Spanish Mission Soledad, founded in 1791. During the rancho era, vast herds of cattle waded though grasslands and later, failed gold miners founded towns like Salinas at well-traveled crossroads. Flourishing grain crops attracted the Southern Pacific Railroad, and as the shining track was laid, Chualar, Gonzales, Soledad, King City, San Lucas, San Ardo, and Bradley sprouted alongside them. Resorts like Paraiso Springs once brought visitors to the foothills, while people of many nationalities came to live and work in settlements like Greenfield, where irrigation soaks the dark, fertile loam by the sinuous river that now supports a mighty $3 billion agricultural industry.

The Brokered Image: Material Culture and Identity in the Stubaital

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The Brokered Image: Material Culture and Identity in the Stubaital
Kelli Ann Costa
Manufacturer: University Press of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Hospitality, Travel & Tourism | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This book presents the "brokered image," a constructed identity influenced by tourism and the global economy, expressed through a variety of displays and performances in rural Tyrol. This image of old world simplicity complicates interactions between and among hosts and guests as evidenced in this small mountain village in Austria.

Framing the West: Images of Rural Ireland, 1891-1920

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Framing the West: Images of Rural Ireland, 1891-1920

Manufacturer: Irish Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0716528738

Images and Realities of Rural Life: Wageningen Perspectives on Rural Transformations (European Perspectives on Rural Development)

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Images and Realities of Rural Life: Wageningen Perspectives on Rural Transformations (European Perspectives on Rural Development)
Henk de Haan , and Norman Long
Manufacturer: Van Gorcum and Comp BV
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9023232887

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Images of Rural Britain
Christopher Somerville
Manufacturer: New Holland Publishers Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Nature Writing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1859748805

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Images of Rural Life
Chris Shepheard , Rural Life Centre , "Farnham Herald" , and Farnham The Rural Life Centre
Manufacturer: Breedon Books Publishing Co Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Nature Writing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1859832601

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Images of Rural Life (York State Books)
Verne Morton
Manufacturer: Syracuse Univ Pr (Sd)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Images of Rural Life: Photographs of Verne Morton

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Images of Rural Life: Photographs of Verne Morton
Verne Morton
Manufacturer: DeWitt Historical Society of Tompkins County
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Photo Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Rural Life in the Lowcountry of South Carolina (Images of America (Arcadia Publishing))

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Rural Life in the Lowcountry of South Carolina (Images of America (Arcadia Publishing))
Dennis S. Taylor
Manufacturer: Arcadia Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

South Carolinaís Lowcountry is awash in history, mystery, and breathtaking beauty and is comprised of roughly 27 counties south and east of the Fall Line, a low, east-facing cliff paralleling the Atlantic coast. Over the past 300 years, farmers and their families, planters, and African Americansóboth enslaved and freedóhave shaped this areaís culture. Through war, peace, poverty, and prosperity, the unique characteristics and customs of the Lowcountry have been woven together and form a rich, enigmatic tapestry distinct from any other. ÝÝRural Life in the Lowcountry of South Carolina contains over 200 previously unpublished images depicting life at the grassroots level during the first half of the 20th century. This volume presents a realistic and at times sobering view of everyday people and their struggles to make a living. Exploring such topics as growing crops, making syrup, and raising livestock, this volume also portrays the areaís distinct architecture, evident in barns, farmhouses, and church buildings. As the state becomes more industrialized, residents are beginning to forget their agricultural heritage, and many know only the stories of elderly family members. These photographs, coupled with informative text, will bridge the present generations with the past. ÝÝ

Book Description

After barely surviving a furious gun duel against his arch-rival, No Man struggles to save the life of outlaw Cherokee Bill. Meanwhile, Henry Cornelius Bakerton conjures forth ever more horrific demons to pursue them. As No Man fights back, more of his tragic past is revealed.

No Man's Land: The Place of the Woman Writer in the Twentieth Century, Volume 2: Sexchanges

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No Man's Land: The Place of the Woman Writer in the Twentieth Century, Volume 2: Sexchanges
Sandra M. Gilbert , and Susan Gubar
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0300050259

Book Description

This final volume in Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar`s landmark trilogy argues that twentieth-century women of letters-from Virginia Woolfe and Marianne Moore to Sylvia Plath and Toni Morrison to Margaret Atwood and Zora Neale Hurston and H.D.-have found themselves on a confusing cultural front and have responded by dispatching "missives" on the profound changes in the roles and rules that govern sexuality.

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No Man's Land: The Place of the Woman Writer in the Twentieth Century - Volume 2 - Sexchanges
Sandra M.; Gubar, Susan Gilbert
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N8YOOW

No Man's Land: The Place of the Woman Writer in the Twentieth Century Sexchanges Volume 2

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No Man's Land: The Place of the Woman Writer in the Twentieth Century Sexchanges Volume 2
Sandra M.; Gubar, Susan Gilbert
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORNRBS

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