Classics Ebooks

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:01:52 -0500

Classics Ebooks - Beethoven: The 'Moonlight' and other Sonatas, Op. 27 and Op. 31 by Timothy Jones. Even in Beethoven's day the 'Moonlight' Sonata was a popular favourite. This book provides an accessible introduction to the Sonatas Opp. 27 and 31 (including The 'Moonlight' and 'The Tempest'), aimed at pianists, students, and music lovers. It begins with the works' historical background - the emergence of a 'piano culture' at the end of the eighteenth century, Beethoven's aristocratic milieu in Vienna, and his oft-quoted intention to follow a new compositional path. An account of the sonatas' genesis is followed by a discussion of their reception history, including a survey of changing performing styles since the mid-nineteenth century. The concept of the Sonata quasi una Fantasia is examined in relation to the cult of artistic sensibility in early-nineteenth-century Vienna. And the study concludes with a critical introduction to each sonata. Purchase At: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=10744

Classics Ebooks

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:00:59 -0500

Classics Ebooks - Dvor�k: Cello Concerto by Jan Smaczny. Dvor�k's Cello Concerto, composed during his second stay in America, is one of the most popular works in the orchestral repertoire. This guide explores Dvor�k's reasons for composing a concerto for an instrument which he at one time considered unsuitable for solo work, its relationship to his American period compositions and how it forms something of a bridge with his operatic interests. A particular focus is the concerto's unique qualities: why it stands apart in terms of form, melodic character and texture from the rest of Dvor�k's orchestral music. The role of the dedicatee of the work, Hanus Wihan, in its creation is also considered, as are performing traditions as they have developed in the twentieth century. In addition the guide explores the extraordinary emotional background to the work which links it intimately to the woman who was probably Dvor�k's first love. Purchase At: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=26535

Classics Ebooks

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:59:14 -0500

Classics Ebooks - Male Fertility and Infertility Editor: T. D. Glover, Editor: C. L. R. Barratt. This contemporary account of male fertility provides a much needed bridge between those seeking to understand the subject from an evolutionary and biological perspective, and those with clinical responsibility for the investigation and treatment of male infertility. Accordingly, the first half of the book deals with evolutionary aspects of male reproduction and sperm competition, sperm production and delivery in man and other animals, spermatogenesis and epididymal function, sperm transport in the female tract, and the apparent decline in human sperm count. The second part of the book puts greater emphasis on clinical problems and opens with a discussion of ICSI, its value and limitations. This is followed by a review of modern developments in the genetics of male infertility and proceeds to a further chapter on the role of surgical procedures in the treatment of male infertility. Semen analysis is critically reviewed and the molecular techniques now being used in preimplantation diagnosis and in the study of mitochondrial inheritance are fully described. Taken together, these chapters, written by an international team of authors, illustrate the breadth of vision needed to tackle the problem of male infertility. Purchase At: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=53511

Classics Ebooks

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:33:34 -0500

Classics Ebooks - The Shaping of Deduction in Greek Mathematics by Reviel Netz. The aim of this book is to explain the shape of Greek mathematical thinking. It can be read on three levels: as a description of the practices of Greek mathematics; as a theory of the emergence of the deductive method; and as a case-study for a general view on the history of science. The starting point for the enquiry is geometry and the lettered diagram. Reviel Netz exploits the mathematicians' practices in the construction and lettering of their diagrams, and the continuing interaction between text and diagram in their proofs, to illuminate the underlying cognitive processes. A close examination of the mathematical use of language follows, especially mathematicians' use of repeated formulae. Two crucial chapters set out to show how mathematical proofs are structured and explain why Greek mathematical practice manages to be so satisfactory. A final chapter looks into the broader historical setting of Greek mathematical practice. Purchase At: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=111834

Classics Ebooks

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:32:39 -0500

Classics Ebooks - The Epistemology of the Cyrenaic School by Voula Tsouna. The Cyrenaic school was a fourth-century BC philosophical movement, related both to the Socratic tradition and to Greek Scepticism. In ethics, Cyrenaic hedonism can be seen as one of many attempts made by the associates of Socrates and their followers to endorse his ethical outlook and to explore the implications of his method. In epistemology, there are close philosophical links between the Cyrenaics and the Sceptics, both Pyrrhonists and Academics. There are further links with modern philosophy as well, for the Cyrenaics introduced a form of subjectivism which in some ways preannounces Cartesian views, endorsed by Malebranche and Hume and developed by Kant. This book reconstructs Cyrenaic epistemology, explains how it depends on Cyrenaic hedonism, locates it in the context of ancient debates, and discusses its connections with modern and contemporary epistemological positions. Purchase At: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=98531

Classics Ebooks

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:31:46 -0500

Classics Ebooks - Lucretius and the Transformation of Greek Wisdom by David N. Sedley. This book is designed to appeal both to those interested in Roman poetry and to specialists in ancient philosophy. In it David Sedley explores Lucretius' complex relationship with Greek culture, in particular with Empedocles, whose poetry was the model for his own, with Epicurus, the source of his philosophical inspiration, and with the Greek language itself. He includes a detailed reconstruction of Epicurus' great treatise On Nature, and seeks to show how Lucretius worked with this as his sole philosophical source, but gradually emancipated himself from its structure, transforming its raw contents into something radically new. By pursuing these themes, the book uncovers many unrecognised aspects of Lucretius' methods and achievements as a poetic craftsman. Purchase At: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=52642

Classics Ebooks

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:30:21 -0500

Classics Ebooks - Paradise Lost by John Milton. Often considered the greatest epic in any modern language, Paradise Lost tells the story of the revolt of Satan, his banishment from Heaven, and the ensuing fall of man and his expulsion from Eden. It is a tale of immense drama and excitement, of rebellion and treachery, of innocence pitted against corruption, in which God and Satan fight a bitter battle for control of mankind's destiny. The struggle ranges across heaven, hell, and earth, as Satan and his band of rebel angels conspire against God. At the center of the conflict are Adam and Eve, motivated by all too human temptations, but whose ultimate downfall is unyielding love. Written in blank verse of unsurpassed majesty, it is the work of a mastermind involved in a profound search for truth. Purchase At: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=132823

Classics Ebooks

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:24:32 -0500

Classics Ebooks - CliffsNotes Platos Euthyphro, Apology, Crito and Phaedo: Notes by Charles H. Patterson. Purchase At: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=18021

Classics Ebooks

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:23:25 -0500

Classics Ebooks - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. An international bestseller and the basis for a hugely successful film, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was one of the defining works of the 1960s. A mordant, wickedly subversive parable set in a mental ward, the novel chronicles the head-on collision between its hell-raising, life-affirming hero Randle Patrick McMurphy and the totalitarian rule of Big Nurse. McMurphy swaggers into the mental ward like a blast of fresh air and turns the place upside down, starting a gambling operation, smuggling in wine and women, and egging on the other patients to join him in open rebellion. But McMurphy's revolution against Big Nurse and everything she stands for quickly turns from sport to a fierce power struggle with shattering results. With One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Kesey created a work without precedent in American literature, a novel at once comic and tragic that probes the nature of madness and sanity, authority and vitality. Greeted by unanimous acclaim when it was first published, the book has become and enduring favorite of readers. Purchase At: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=137699

Classics Ebooks

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:22:20 -0500

Classics Ebooks - Pollyanna Grows UP! by Eleanor H. Porter. Pollyanna, the little girl who played the "glad" game grows up and falls in love. But will the young man she adores return her love? And if he does, how will her old "best friend" Jimmy cope? Purchase At: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=66816