Desde queen 1890 en Estados Unidos se utilizara el terminorascacielos para designar al edificio de oficinas en altura, esteha suscitado diversidad de reflexiones --entre el entornoarquitectonico y la opi-nion pOblica- acerca de sus limites ydisefio. El ras-cacielos es un producto genuinamenteestadouniden-se, fruto del siglo xx, cuya presencia y evoluci6n essin6nimo de progreso tecnologico, la sociedad de consumo y lapolftica liberal. Este volumen propone una revision de los rascacielos queinauguran el nuevo milenio, con la seleccion de edificios de laultima decada del siglo xx y principios del xxi de algunos de losarquitectos mas relevantes de la actualidad. Asf, se muestranedificios que forman parte del debate arquitect6nico actual y quemuestran como sus autores afrontan la arquitectura en relacion conla sociedad y la ciudad.

Few music lovers realize that the arrangement of notes ontoday’s pianos was once regarded as a crime against God and nature,or that such legendary thinkers as Pythagoras, Plato, da Vinci,Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Newton and Rousseau played a role inthe controversy. Indeed, from the time of the Ancient Greeksthrough the eras of Renaissance scientists and Enlightenmentphilosophers, the relationship between the notes of the musicalscale was seen as a key to the very nature of the universe. In this engaging and accessible account, Stuart Isacoff leads usthrough the battles over that scale, placing them in the context ofquarrels in the worlds of art, philosophy, religion, politics andscience. The contentious adoption of the modern tuning system knownas equal temperament called into question beliefs that hadlasted nearly two millenia–and also made possible the music ofBeethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, and all who followed. Filledwith original insights, fascinating anecdotes, and portraits ofsome of th

Situated between Western Europe and the civilizations ofByzantium and the Islamic world, Renaissance Venice was uniquelypositioned at the crossroads of East and West. In the beautifulAdriatic city, ideas and aesthetics were exchanged and developed ina remarkable age of cultural fusion. Venice’s distinctivearchitecture is already well known for integrating divergentcultural influences, but the impact of this synthesis on Venetianpainting has not been fully explored. This gorgeous book focuses onthe work of the remarkable Bellini family of painters—Jacopo andhis sons Gentile and Giovanni—who transformed Venetianpainting in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The authors examine the influence of Venetian trade with the Easton Bellini paintings; the Byzantine influence on Venetian art; theimpact of a visit to Mehmed II’s court in 1479 on Gentile Bellini,as well as his effect on Eastern-trained artists there; and muchmore. The book is abundantly illustrated with the Bellini family’

The Renaissance holds an undying place in our imagination, itsgreat heroes still our own, from Michelangelo and Leonardo to Danteand Chaucer. This period of profound evolution in European thoughtis credited with transforming the West from medieval to modern andproducing the most astonishing outpouring of artistic creation theworld has ever known. But what was it? In this masterly work, theincomparable Paul Johnson tells us. He explains the economic,technological, and social developments that provide a backdrop tothe age’s achievements and focuses closely on the lives and worksof its most important figures. A commanding short narrative of thisvital period, The Renaissance is also a universally profoundmeditation on the wellsprings of innovation.

Up-to-the-minute information on Billboard's hottest hits Back ina fully revised and updated fourth edition with eighty extraall-new pages, "Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits" is the veneratedand reliablesource of information on the most popular songs of ourtimes. Immensely entertaining, endlessly informative, and filledwith fascinating facts and figures on the biggest hits right up to2007, this is the ultimate music trivia book. Separate chapters aredevoted to artists, songwriters, producers, labels, years, andsubjects. Within each chapter, readers will find fun-to-read,fun-to-share lists in 300 categories, including The Top 100 LoveSongs, The Top 50 Songs Written by Carole King, The Top 100 Songson Atlantic, The Top 100 Songs of 1999, and many more. A revisedand updated list of The Top 5,000 Songs of the Rock Era, plus achart and text section devoted to "American Idol" finalists, makethis book so hot it's cool.

From its ancient status as the jewel of an empire to itsmodern incarnation as a troubled, yet culturally vibrant Europeancapital, Rome has compelled the imagination of artists for over twothousand years. Now, in "The History of Rome in Painting", that

Picking up where the best-selling Garden House left off, GardenHome: City demonstrates how to infuse an apartment, loft, flat, orother city home with the spirit of the garden. Clusters of yellowblossoms in brightly colored pails on a sill create a flower bedwhere there’s no space for one. Carefully arranged indoor topiariesbring the whimsy of a manicured garden inside. And a wall paintedthe vivid color of a favorite flower adds warmth and vibrancy to asmall room. Garden Home: City also shows how to soften theboundaries between indoors and out with the creative use of windowboxes, fire escapes, and balcony gardens. Anyone who lives in anurban setting will appreciate this richly illustrated,inspirational guide to transforming any space into a modern-dayEden.

A huge gathering of the finest American and British song lyricsfrom 1910 to 1975. Robert Kimball, editor of the complete lyrics ofCole Porter, Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart and next year's IrvingBerlin, and Robert Gottlieb, editor of the recent Reading Jazz,have collaborated to choose the 800 or more most distinguishedlyrics of the century, from early P.G. Wodehouse and the IrvingBerlin of Alexander's Ragtime Band through the greats of Broadwayand Hollywood -- Gershwin, Hart, Porter, Berlin, Oscar Hammerstein,Yip Harbourg, Dorothy Fields, Frank Loesser, Noel Coward -- to theearly triumphs of Stephen Sondheim. Plus many writers who arebarely remembered today -- Don Raye ("Mr. Five by Five", "I'llRemember April"), Bobby Troup ("Route 66", "Daddy") -- withsurprises like Ogden Nash, Maxwell Anderson, Dorothy Parker, andTruman Capote. Over 100 lyricists in all, each one introduced witha brief biography and commentary, and presented chronologically, sothat this big volume not only presents the core of an entireliterat

Interior designers will enjoy this beautifully illustratedvolume of 39 interiors located in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing.Both private and commercial buildings are featured, includingrestaurants, resorts, and homes, in new and renovated locations.Many of the designs combine Asian materials and styles with Westerntraditions. Distributed by T

Includes eight full-length, award-winning plays: * Streamers by David Rabe * Marco Polo Sings a Solo by John Guare * Wings by Arthur Kopit * Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You by ChristopherDurang * Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley * The Dining Room by A.R. Gurney * Painting Churches by Tina Howe * Ma Rainey's Black Bottom byAugust Wilson Edited and with an introduction by Brooks McNamara.

Preserved by Arabic mathematicians and canonized by Christianscholars, Aristotle’s works have shaped Western thought, science,and religion for nearly two thousand years. Richard McKeon’s TheBasic Works of Aristotle –constituted out of the definitiveOxford translation and in print as a Random House hardcover forsixty years–has long been considered the best available one-volumeAristotle. Appearing in paperback at long last, this editionincludes selections from the Organon, On the Heavens, The ShortPhysical Treatises, Rhetoric, among others, and On the Soul, OnGeneration and Corruption, Physics, Metaphysics, NicomacheanEthics, Politics, and Poetics in their entirety.

Antonio Stradivari (1644—1737) was a perfectionist whosesingle-minded pursuit of excellence changed the world of music. Inthe course of his long career in the northern Italian city ofCremona, he created more than a thousand stringed instruments;approximately six hundred survive, their quality unequalled by anysubsequent violin-maker. In this fascinating book, Toby Fabertraces the rich, multilayered stories of six of these peerlesscreations–five violins and a cello–and the one towering artist whobrought them into being. Blending history, biography, meticulousdetective work, and an abiding passion for music, Faber takes usfrom the salons of Vienna to the concert halls of New York, andfrom the breakthroughs of Beethoven’s last quartets to the firstphonographic recordings. This magnificent narrative invites us toshare the life, the intrigue, and the incomparable beauty of theworld’s most marvelous stringed instruments.

“My mother prophesied years ago that my voice would take meplaces. She was certain that there was a reason I was able to sing.I am still discovering what that reason is, what it is that Godwants to happen.” –CLAY AIKEN, from Learning to Sing When he was a kid singing in his church choir, Clay Aiken neverdreamed of becoming a pop music star. His ambition was to be ateacher, maybe even a high school principal. But Clay’s mother wasright, and the music that was Clay’s joy in life was destined tolead him to unexpected triumphs. In Learning to Sing, Clay details what his astonishing successhas meant to him. He writes from the heart about his life beforeand since his instant stardom on American Idol, how he has changed,and how he struggles to adapt to life in the public eye. He speakscandidly about his lonely childhood: the father who abandoned him,the school bullies who tormented him, the mother who taught him tobe strong, and the friends and teachers who–more than they everkne

A basic primer for anyone without musical training who wishesto learn to read musical scores when singing or taking up aninstrument, this accessible and complete book covers classical,popular, jazz, and folk music. Well-known pieces are accompanied bya muscial dictionary, a note directory, and a guide to musicalsigns.

The official, fully authorized full-color guide to the characters, places, and landscapes of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth as depicted in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.Fully illustrated with almost 300 color photographs, including stunning new images from the extended director's versions of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, and exclusive "first-look" shots from The Return of the King, this Complete Visual Companion now tells the whole tale of The Lord of the Rings in sumptuous detail.The many characters, creatures, and strange lands of Middle-earth encountered by the Fellowship of the Ring in their epic journey are here brought to life: from the magical Elven realms of Rivendell and Lothlorien to the abandoned Dwarven kingdom of Moria; from the wizard Saruman's stronghold at Isengard to the land of the Horse-lords, Rohan; from their last-ditch fortress at Helm's Deep to Minas Tirith, the city-kingdom of the proud Men of Gondor; from the haunted Paths of the Dead to the battlefields of Pelen

One of Victorian Englands most charismatic characters, DanteGabriel Rossetti painted and wrote with equal passion. He wassimilarly passionate in his personal life: his etherealartist-wife, his earthy blond mistress, and the ravishing JaneMorris are al

Asian Resorts is conceived to be the most comprehensivecollection on Asian resorts. Written and shot by the region'sbest known Asian architecture specialist, TanHock Beng, who has already put together five books on the designand aesthetics of tropical architecture, Asian Resorts promises toshow its readers the biggest variety of Asian resorts that no otherbook has ever shown. With its beautifully' shot images and relevantinformation, this book will certainly serve and entertain youbeyond just the coffee table. In fact, it is a must-have for everyarchitectural office and every home.