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A 2025 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

The idea that a new technology could challenge human intelligence is as old as the warning from Socrates and Plato that written language eroded memory. With the emergence of generative artificial intelligence programs, we find ourselves once again debating how a new technology might influence human thought and behavior. Researchers, software developers, and "visionary" tech writers even imagine an AI that will equal or surpass human intelligence, adding to a sense of technological determinism where humanity is inexorably shaped by powerful new machines. But among the hundreds of essays, books, and movies that approach the question of AI, few have asked how exactly scientists and philosophers have codified human thought and behavior. Rather than focusing on technical contributions in machine building, The Descent of Artificial Intelligence explores a more diverse cast of thinkers who helped to imagine the very kind of human being that might be challenged by a machine. Kevin Padraic Donnelly argues that what we often think of as the "goal" of AI has in fact been shaped by forgotten and discredited theories about people and human nature as much as it has been by scientific discoveries, mathematical advances, and novel technologies. By looking at the development of artificial intelligence through the lens of social thought, Donnelly deflates the image of artificial intelligence as a technological monolith and reminds readers that we can control the narratives about ourselves.

In this beautifully illustrated volume, the fascinating story of Tibetan, Himalayan, and Inner Asian art is illuminated through objects from the Neolithic era to today. In this beautifully illustrated volume, the fascinating story of Himalayan art is illuminated through a selection of significant objects from the Neolithic era to today. Paintings, sculptures, drawings, textiles, architectural structures, and more serve as a guide to the historical traditions, rituals, social practices, and art forms from Tibetan, Indian, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Mongolian, and Chinese regions, emphasising cross-cultural exchange with Tibet at the centre. Photographs and essays bring each object to life, introducing readers to the diversity and uniqueness of Tibetan, Himalayan, and Inner Asian art and practices, while highlighting the importance of the region in understanding broader Asia. Selected and authored by an international group of scholars and curators, these 108 objects offer an accessible introduction to this rich yet underrepresented field. This highly anticipated publication is part of the Rubin Museum's Project Himalayan Art, an initiative to cultivate resources for teaching and learning about Himalayan art and cultures.

The extraordinary life you dream of is dreaming of you. It is waiting with open arms. And it is counting on you to be strong, to have faith, and to dare boldly.
Written by New York Times best-selling author Kobi Yamada, this book is here to inspire you to take one step closer to what you want. With a combination of motivating statements and moving quotes from Mary Oliver, Maya Angelou, Ansel Adams, and others, each page is a call to bold action--and encouragement to dream until it's true.
Give this empowering gift book to a new graduate, retiree, aspiring entrepreneur, or anyone ready to take on a new challenge.

With hundreds of interviews conducted over a 35-year span, this book is the most comprehensive history of television scoring to date.

Music composed for television had, until recently, never been taken seriously by scholars or critics. Catchy TV themes, often for popular weekly series, were fondly remembered but not considered much more culturally significant than commercial jingles. Yet noted composers like John Williams, Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith and Lalo Schifrin learned and/or honed their craft in television before going on to major success in feature films.

Oscar-winning film composers like Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman and Maurice Jarre wrote hours of music for television projects, and such high-profile jazz figures as Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck and Quincy Jones also contributed music to TV series. Concert-hall luminaries from Aaron Copland to Leonard Bernstein, and theater writers from Jerome Moross to Richard Rodgers, penned memorable scores for TV.

Music for Prime Time is the first serious, journalistic history of music for American television. It is the product of 35 years of research and more than 450 interviews with composers, orchestrators, producers, editors and musicians active in the field. Based on, but vastly expanded and revised from, an earlier book by the same author, this wide-ranging narrative not only tells the backstory of every great TV theme but also examines the many neglected and frequently underrated orchestral and jazz compositions for television dating back to the late 1940s.

Covering every series genre (crime, comedy, drama, westerns, action-adventure, fantasy and sci-fi), it also looks at music for animated series, news and documentary programming, TV-movies and miniseries, and how music for television has evolved in the era of cable and streaming options. It is the most comprehensive history of television scoring ever published.

It's all about light, texture, color, shape and balance!

Filled with inspiring images of unconventional flower arrangements, this new book by Japanese Ikebana master Yuji Ueno shows you how to use light and position as well as color, shape and texture--of both flowers and vessel--to make inexpensive floral arrangements that convey a Zen sense of simplicity, calm and balance.

Ueno's arrangements are informal, but authentic and true to the original wabi-sabi spirit of Ikebana practiced by Zen Buddhist masters of the art.

In this book you'll find:

• Tips on how to select flowers and foliage, choose a vessel to harmonize with the available light in and design of your spaces, and more
• Inspiration to utilize the beauty of a flower's many stages, the imperfections of leaves and branches, and the design potential in old and unusual vases
• A sense of connectedness to the seasons of the year and how to translate that into seasonal arrangements using found and foraged foliage
• An appreciation for simple and imperfect components and a slow, mindful approach to arranging your flowers

Ueno's unique approach makes it clear that you don't need special training, expensive equipment or store-bought flowers to create beautiful arrangements. All you need is an open mind, a sense of awareness--and a good set of clippers--to create Ikebana that are truly unique, expressive and uplifting.

The Zen art of flower arranging is now accessible to everyone!

This beautifully photographed guide celebrates the endless possibilities of the vegetable patch and shows that edible gardening can be both productive and stunning to behold.

International gardening and cooking expert Sarah Raven shares her wealth of knowledge about how to have a bountiful--and beautiful--kitchen garden. With the belief that we should all grow more of what we eat, she imparts her experience on making the most of any outdoor space along with sage advice about the best things to grow and harvest easily and efficiently along with their culinary uses. The varieties highlighted are accessible, but Sarah also includes many flavorful heirlooms as well as rarities difficult to find in markets.

Being connected to the food on our plate and to the landscape around us has never been more important, and everything Sarah does is strictly organic. She focuses on growing the freshest, healthiest, and tastiest produce without resorting to artificial inputs or chemicals.

Although the book is primarily focused on edibles, Sarah includes flowers (some edible too) because they attract pollinators and beneficial insects while beautifying the vegetable patch. Solid, practical advice is mixed with inspirational ideas, and aspirational photos of Sarah's own showstopping garden are sure to inspire any home gardener.

Celebration of life, book of condolence, memory book, ideal item for guests to write down their memories and thoughts, can be filled with comments and memories. This hardback book has a matt finish, filled with 70 lined pages with space for guests to leave a message, size of the book is 8.5 x 8.5.

The elegance of the Little Black Dress. The simplicity of the Breton shirt. The luxury of the fragrance. These signatures exemplify the image of Chanel.

Bringing to life the story and designs of Gabrielle Chanel, the most influential couturière in the history of fashion, Chanel in 55 Objects is an exquisite collection of bespoke illustrations and captivating text. The chic drawings depict her most iconic innovations including fashion, fragrance, jewellery and accessories, as well as the places, motifs and people that inspired her.

This magnificent boxed-set features stunning, accordion-fold, color reproductions of Monet's essential works, accompanied by a separate booklet with background and descriptions of each painting.

Fans of Impressionism will delight in seeing some of their favorite works presented in generously sized accordion fold pages, which bring Monet's representations of nature to exquisite life.

Arranged chronologically, this volume helps readers appreciate the achievements of a long and fruitful career. Natural beauty, color and light were the object of Monet's incessant research, and he never lost sight of what was essential to him - the truth of his sensations. From the faithful transcription of the landscape in his early days to the gestural drawing of the final water lilies at Giverny, this book allows us to follow and understand the evolution of his creativity. The themes of Monet's work (the seashore, the Seine, gardens, the seasons) are discussed, as well as the techniques he used, such as the decomposition of light and color through the brushstroke; the use of repetition and series to better reflect atmospheric variations; and the progressive dissolution of forms, which led to him being considered the precursor of abstraction.

Packaged in an elegant slipcase, this volume reflects the beautiful artistry and timeless traditions that are embodied in the artworks themselves.

Eine Architektur, die in einer sinnlichen Verbindung zum Leben stehen soll, erfordert ein Denken, das über Form und Konstruktion weit hinausgeht. In seinen Texten bringt Peter Zumthor zum Ausdruck, was ihn zu diesen Gebäuden motiviert, die Gefühl und Verstand auf so vielfältige Weise ansprechen und über eine unbedingte Präsenz und Ausstrahlung verfügen.
Dieses Buch, das nun bereits in dritter Auflage erscheint, wurde nun um zwei neue Essays ergänzt: «Architektur und Landschaft» beschäftigt sich mit dem Verhältnis von Bauwerk und Umgebung, dem Geheimnis der gelungenen Platzierung und topografischen Einbindung von Architektur. In «Die Leiserhäuser» beschreibt Peter Zumthor das Entstehen zweier Holzhäuser im bündnerischen Leis und thematisiert damit die besondere Herausforderung, zeitgenössische Architektur in einen traditionellen baulichen Kontext zu integrieren.