It’s tempting to think of the current era as unique. Popular culture and the news media are filled with pronouncements that society is in the process of the greatest transformation since the development of agriculture, or since the... Read More

“To live like God in Odessa-the golden city, the jewel of the sea.” Such were the hopes and praise drawn by the city of Odessa of the southern Ukraine. Few if any cities could rival pre-revolution Odessa for ethnic diversity,... Read More

Before there was Lucy Liu there was Anna May Wong, a pioneering Asian American who defied cultural prejudices to become one of the most famous women in the world. In a time when Asian film roles generally went to European Americans in... Read More

This book examines Western thoughts on mortality through the development of opera, from the art’s birth at a time of religious zeal, through its growth during the age of reason, to the present, when belief in the afterlife has eroded,... Read More

“The Grail has occupied a unique place in the Western imagination since the dawn of the Middle Ages,” writes the author. “The Grail embodies a promise of immortality and the fulfillment of dreams and aspirations.” This book is... Read More

Many readers would be interested in cultivating relationships with a group of friends who might offer encouragement in times of need, listen with patience to complaints about a miserable day, or offer sage advice about work and family... Read More

Like peanut butter and jelly or Abbott and Costello, Brooklyn and baseball belong together. The history of this seemingly symbiotic relationship began in the mid-nineteenth century, when a professional team made its home in Brooklyn in... Read More

If the magic has gone out of life, this thorough and responsible book can restore it, illuminating the use of Tarot cards for a goodly array of benign purposes. Times have changed. Rather than consulting the Tarot for a sneak peek at... Read More