Robinson forklarer her sammenhengen mellom lyd, symbol og tegn, og går videre med å diskutere hvert enkelt av de store skriftsystemene etter tur. Her presenteres historien om dechiffreringene, om hvordan fortidens ord fikk liv gjennom innsatsene til Champollion, Ventris og andre. En spesiell egenskap ved boken er den grafiske steg-for-steg-analysen av hvordan hvert tegn virker, med detaljerte illustrerte eksempler. Har stikkordregister og litteraturliste. Har over 350 illustrasjoner.

Boka forklarer det en pr. 1995 vet om naturkrefter som jordskjelv, ørkener, ozonlaget og drivhuseffekten. Den ser på hvordan mennesket har oppfattet sitt forhold til naturen, og hvordan jordens egen utvikling har ført til dagens betingelser. Med registre. Illustrert.

Writing is one of humanity's greatest inventions. Without it there would be no history and no civilization as we know it. But how, when and where did writing evolve? In a succinct, absorbing and well-illustrated text, Andrew Robinson discusses the history of decipherment and then each of the major writing systems in turn, from cuneiform and Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs to alphabets and the scripts of China and Japan. An invaluable guide to the worlds major writing systems, "The Story of Writing" is a book to read for both pleasure and enlightenment.

Linear B is Europe's oldest readable writing, dating from the middle of the second millennium BC. This book, newly available in paperback, tells the life story of Michael Ventris, interlaced with that of his decipherment of Linear B. First discovered in 1900, on clay tablets among the ruins of the Palace of Minos at Knossos, Crete, it remained a mystery for over fifty years until 1952, when Michael Ventris discovered that its signs did not represent an unknown language as previously believed, but an archaic dialect of Greek, more than 500 years older than the Greek of Homer. Dubbed the Everest of archaeology, the decipherment was all the more remarkable because Ventris was not a trained classical scholar but an architect by profession, who had first heard of Linear B as a schoolboy. An initial fascination became a lifelong obsession for this intriguing and contradictory man, a gifted linguist but a divided soul. "Excellent: well researched and clearly presented compelling reading". ("The Times Literary Supplement"). "Excellent, Robinson understands how to make the complexities of pictograms clear to the non-expert.The book gives many examples, and would appeal to anyone interested in crosswords, codes and cyphers, but it also tells a fascinating human story". ("The Independent"). "A wonderfully swift and clear biography, written for the nonspecialist". ("The Economist"). "A superb biography of Michael Ventris, combining a warm account of his life with just enough technical details to satisfy those who have knowledge of linguistics or indeed of the classics. It is a splendid read, and a fine memorial to the split personality that enabled Ventris to decipher Minoan Linear B so triumphantly. ("Current World Archaeology").

"A truly welcome and refreshing study that puts earthquake impact on history into a proper perspective" --Amos Nur, Emeritus Professor of Geophysics, Stanford University, California, and author of Apocalypse: Earthquakes, Archaeology, and the Wrath of God.Since antiquity, on every continent, human beings in search of attractive landscapes and economic prosperity have made a Faustian bargain with the risk of devastation by an earthquake. Today, around half of the world's largest cities - as many as sixty - lie in areas of major seismic activity. Many, such as Lisbon, Naples, San Francisco, Tehran and Tokyo, have been severely damaged or destroyed by earthquakes in the past. But throughout history, starting with ancient Jericho, Rome and Sparta, cities have proved to be extraordinarily resilient: only one, Port Royal in the Caribbean, was abandoned after an earthquake.Earth-Shattering Events seeks to understand exactly how humans and earthquakes have interacted, not only in the short term but also in the long perspective of history. In some cases, physical devastation has been followed by decline. But in others, the political and economic reverberations of earthquake disasters have presented opportunities for renewal. After its wholesale destruction in 1906, San Francisco went on to flourish, eventually giving birth to the high-tech industrial area on the San Andreas fault known as Silicon Valley. An earthquake in Caracas in 1812 triggered the creation of new nations in the liberation of South America from Spanish rule. Another in Tangshan in 1976 catalysed the transformation of China into the world's second largest economy.The growth of the scientific study of earthquakes is woven into this far-reaching history. It began with a series of earthquakes in England in 1750. Today, seismologists can monitor the vibration of the planet second by second and the movement of tectonic plates millimetre by millimetre. Yet, even in the 21st century, great earthquakes are still essentially 'acts of God', striking with much less warning than volcanoes, floods, hurricanes and even tornadoes and tsunamis.

Beginning with the stories of three great decipherments Egyptian hieroglyphs, Minoan Linear B and Mayan glyphs Lost Languages moves on to dissect the most well-known and enigmatic undeciphered scripts from around the world. They include the Etruscan alphabet of Italy, the Indus Valley seal script, Rongorongo from remote Easter Island, the Zapotec script of Mexico (probably the first writing system in the Americas), and the unique Phaistos disc of Crete. Lost Languages reports from the front lines of scholarship where obsessions, genius, occasional delusion and sometimes bitter rivalry are de rigueur among those currently competing for the rare honour of cracking these ancient codes and giving voice to forgotten worlds.

Homer, Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart, Shakespeare, and Tolstoy; Curie, Darwin, Einstein, Galileo, and Newton. What do these world-famous artists and scientists have in common?- apart from the fact that their achievements predate our own time by a century or more. Most of us would probably answer: all ten possessed something we call genius, which in each instance permanently changed the way that humanity perceived the world. But pressed to be more precise, we find it remarkably hard to define genius. Genius is highly individual and unique, of course, yet it shares a compelling, inevitable quality for professionals and the general public alike. Darwin's ideas are still required reading for every working biologist; they continue to generate fresh thinking and experiments around the world. So do Einstein's theories among physicists. Shakespeare's plays and Mozart's melodies and harmonies continue to move people in languages and cultures far removed from their native England and Austria. Contemporary 'geniuses' may come and go, but the idea of genius will not let go of us. Genius is the name we give to a quality of work that transcends fashion, celebrity, fame, and reputation: the opposite of a period piece. Somehow, genius abolishes both the time and the place of its origin. This Very Short Introduction uses the life and work of familiar geniuses-and some less familiar-to illuminate both the individual and the general aspects of genius. In particular: the roles of talent, heredity, parenting, education, training, hard work, intelligence, personality, mental illness, inspiration, eureka moments, and luck, in the making of genius.

In ten incisive chapters Andrew Robinson provides a clear focus to each segment of the unfolding story of Indian history, from the remarkable cities of the Indus Valley civilization four millennia ago to the Hindu dynasties, from the Mughal Empire to the British Raj, and from Indian independence to the nation's emergence as the world's largest democracy and one of its fastest growing economies in the modern era.

Cracking the Egyptian Code is the first biography in English of Jean-Francois Champollion, the impoverished, arrogant and brilliant child of the French Revolution who made the vital breakthrough in deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphs. This finely illustrated account charts Champollion's dramatic life and achievements: by turns a teenage professor, a supporter of Napoleon, an exile, a fanatical decipherer and a curator at the Louvre, he lived life to the full but drove himself into an early grave. Andrew Robinson's full-blooded account brings the man, his setbacks and his ultimate triumphs vividly to life.

When Alexander the Great invaded the Indus Valley in the fourth century BCE, he was completely unaware that it had once been the center of a civilization that could have challenged ancient Egypt and neighboring Mesopotamia in size and sophistication. In this accessible introduction, Andrew Robinson tells the story--so far as we know it--of this enigmatic people, who lay forgotten for around 4,000 years.

Målinger har definert samfunn, ledelse og utvikling siden sivilisasjonens morgen. Lengde, areal, volum, vinkel, vekt, verdi, språk og tid måtte kvantifiseres og systematiseres for oppmerking av jord, bygging av palasser, varehandel, beskatning, nedtegnelser og feiring av høytider. I form av vitenskap har måling gitt opphav til den moderne verden, med kassaapparat, kommunikasjonssatellitter og hjerneskannere. Denne boken utforsker alt målbart, fra temperatur, jordskjelv og radioaktivitet til musikk, blodtyper og sosiale holdninger. Den tar leseren med fra Hubble-romteleskopets bilder av galakser i ytterkanten av den kjente verden til intelligenstester innerst i menneskesinnet. Passer for enhver som er nysgjerrig på vitenskapens rolle i hverdagslivet.

Målinger har definert samfunn, ledelse og utvikling siden sivilisasjonens morgen. Lengde, areal, volum, vinkel, vekt, verdi, språk og tid måtte kvantifiseres og systematiseres for oppmerking av jord, bygging av palasser, varehandel, beskatning, nedtegnelser og feiring av høytider. I form av vitenskap har måling gitt opphav til den moderne verden, med kassaapparat, kommunikasjonssatellitter og hjerneskannere. Denne boken utforsker alt målbart, fra temperatur, jordskjelv og radioaktivitet til musikk, blodtyper og sosiale holdninger. Den tar leseren med fra Hubble-romteleskopets bilder av galakser i ytterkanten av den kjente verden til intelligenstester innerst i menneskesinnet. Passer for enhver som er nysgjerrig på vitenskapens rolle i hverdagslivet.

""I can never forget the excitement in my mind after seeing 'Pather Panchali'"", noted Akira Kurosawa. Satyajit Ray's three films about the boyhood, adolescence and manhood of Apu, 'Pather Panchali' (1955), 'Aparajito' (1956) and 'The World of Apu' (1959) - collectively known as The Apu Trilogy - are established classics of world cinema. The Trilogy was the chief reason for Satyajit Ray's receiving a Hollywood Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1992, just before his death. _x000D__x000D_This book by Ray's biographer and world authority Andrew Robinson is the first full study of the Trilogy. Ro

The connections between race and sexuality are constant in our lives, yet they are not often linked together in productive, analytical ways.This illuminating book delves into the interrelation of race and sexuality as inseparable elements of our identities and social lives. The authors approach the topic through an interdisciplinary lens, focusing on power, social arrangements and hierarchies, and the production of social difference. Their analysis maps the historical, discursive, and structural manifestations of race and sexuality, noting the everyday effects that the intersections of these categories have on people's lived experiences. Considering both US-based and transnational cases, this book presents an empirical grounding for understanding how race and sexuality are mutually constitutive categories.Providing a comprehensive overview of racialized sexualities, this book is an essential text for any advanced course on race, sexuality, and intersectionality.

Superman: Red Son

The extraordinary history of Ancient Egyptian civilization - from its earliest origins to the creation of its greatest monument - from specialist John Romer This exceptional book draws on a lifetime of research and thought to recreate the previously untold story of how a civilization which began with handfuls of semi-itinerant fishermen settled, spread and created a rich, vivid, strange civilization that had its first culmination in the pharaoh Khufu building the Great Pyramid. The book immerses the reader in the fascinating world of archaeological evidence, the process by which this long vanished world has gradually re-emerged and the rapidly changing interpretations which these breathtaking but entirely enigmatic remains have been subjected to. Whether he is writing about the smallest necklace bead or the most elaborate royal tomb, John Romer conveys to the reader a remarkable sense of how to understand a people so like ourselves and yet in so many ways eerily different. Reviews: 'Scholarly, passionate and exquisitely written ...a stunning, clear-sighted history of Ancient Egypt' James McConnachie, Sunday Times 'It is not easy to enliven prehistory while simultaneously respecting limited archaeological evidence and avoiding novelistic pitfalls.But Romer manages it ...After a long wait, we have an up-to-date, stimulating account of the birth of what may turn out to be the world's oldest civilization' Andrew Robinson, Nature 'His physical descriptions are superb ...a book to be read and thought about' John Ray, Financial Times 'Romer carries the reader along effortlessly on a lengthy, complex yet immensely satisfying journey' Joyce Tyldesley, BBC History About the author: John Romer has been working in Egypt since 1966 on archaeological digs in many key sites, including the Valley of the Kings and Karnak. He led the Brooklyn Museum expedition to excavate the tomb of Ramesses XI. He wrote and presented a number of television series, including The Seven Wonders of the World, Romer's Egypt, Ancient Lives and Testament. His major books include The Great Pyramid: Ancient Egypt Revisited and Valley of the Kings. He lives in Italy.

Learn to build software and hardware projects featuring the Raspberry Pi! Raspberry Pi represents a new generation of computers that encourages the user to play and to learn and this unique book is aimed at the beginner Raspberry Pi user who is eager to get started creating real-world projects. Taking you on a journey of creating 15 practical projects, this fun and informative resource introduces you to the skills you need to have in order to make the most of the Pi. The book begins with a quick look at how to get the Pi up and running and then encourages you to dive into the a

Satyajit Ray's films include the 'Apu' trilogy, 'The Music Room,' 'Charulata,' 'Days and Nights in the Forest,' 'The Chess Players' and 'The Stranger.' He also made comedies, musicals, detective films and documentaries. Beginning with the classic Pather Panchali in 1955, Ray was an exceptionally versatile artist who won almost every major prize in cinema, including an Oscar for lifetime achievement just before his death in 1992. Akira Kurosawa said of him: "Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon."_x000D__x000D_'Satyajit Ray: The Inner

Dette er en detaljert reisehåndbok med praktiske opplysninger om transport, overnatting, spisesteder, severdigheter, utesteder, shopping, historie, kunst og kultur, religion og språk; samt en rekke andre opplysninger som turister vil kunne ha nytte av. Med kart.

Drawing on the philosophy of C. S. Peirce, Robinson develops a 'semiotic model' of the Trinity and proposes a new theology of nature according to which the evolving cosmos may be understood as bearing 'vestiges of the Trinity in creation'.