"Historian, author, artist, and architect Giorgio Vasari published his original edition of Lives of the Artists in Florence, Italy, in 1550. Regarded as a pioneering work of art appreciation, the combination of biographical anecdote and critical scrutiny remains a vivid, informative guide to the major figures of Renaissance cultural life. Vasari's admiration for his subjects, some of whom (Michelangelo, for example) were his personal friends, is reflected in his prose, which celebrates the ideal of the great artist and the exemplary life. His writing reveals the inner character of the artists and sheds fresh light on their work. This beautiful, silk-bound, abridged edition focuses on three of Vasari's subjects - Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael - and is illustrated with some of the greatest artworks ever made."
Edward Lear lived a vivid, fascinating, energetic life, but confessed, 'I hardly enjoy any one thing on earth while it is present.' He was a man in a hurry, 'running about on railroads' from London to country estates and boarding steamships to Italy, Corfu, India, and Palestine. He is still loved for his 'nonsenses' from startling, joyous limericks to great love songs like 'The Owl and the Pussy Cat' and 'The Dong with a Luminous Nose' and he is famous, too, for his brilliant natural history paintings, landscapes and travel writing. But although Lear belongs solidly in the age of Darwin and Dickens he gave Queen Victoria drawing lessons, and his many friends included Tennyson and the Pre-Raphaelite painters - his genius for the absurd and his dazzling word-play make him a very modern spirit. He speaks to us today.
Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Collection of six best loved titles in one boxed set: *Sense and Sensibility *Emma *Persuasion *Mansfield Park *Pride and Prejudice *Northanger Abbey.
Written between 500 BCE and 700 CE, these seven texts have inspired generals for millennia, both in China and the wider world. Featuring Sun Tzu's The Art of War, this new translation brings to light the military masterpieces of ancient China. These seven texts display an understanding of strategy and warfare still relevant more than 2,000 years after they were originally written. Together, they present a uniquely eastern tradition of warfare that emphasizes speed, stealth, and cunning rather than force of numbers.
"This is the only comprehensive photographic field guide to the birds of the entire Indian subcontinent. Every distinct species and subspecies-some 1,375 in all-is covered with photographs, text, and maps. The guide features more than 4,000 stunning photographs, many never before published, which have been carefully selected to illustrate key identification features of each species. The up-to-date facing-page text includes concise descriptions of plumage, voice, range, habitat, and recent taxonomic changes. Each species has a detailed map reflecting the latest distribution information and containing notes on status and population density. The guide also features an introduction that provides an overview of birdlife and a brief history of ornithology in India and its neighbors. The result is an encyclopedic photographic guide that is essential for everyone birding anywhere in the subcontinent. •Covers all 1,375 subcontinental bird species •Features more than 4,000 stunning photographs to aid quick field identification •Includes up-to-date facing-page text and range maps •Contains concise descriptions of plumage, voice, habitat, and much more."