A Study of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University Kingdom of Beauty shows that the discovery of mingei (folk art) by Japanese intellectuals in the 1920s and 1930s was central to the complex process by which Japan became both a modern nation and an imperial world power. Kim Brandt’s account of the mingei movement locates its origins in colonial Korea, where middle-class Japanese artists and collectors discovered that imperialism offered them special opportunities to amass art objects and gain social, cultural, and even political influence. Later, mingei enthusiasts worked with (and against) other groups—such as state officials, fascist ideologues, rival folk art organizations, local artisans, newspaper and magazine editors, and department store managers—to promote their own vision of beautiful prosperity for Japan, Asia, and indeed the world. In tracing the history of mingei activism, Brandt considers not only Yanagi Muneyoshi, Hamada Shōji, Kawai Kanjirō, and other well-known leaders of the folk art movement but also the often overlooked networks of provincial intellectuals, craftspeople, marketers, and shoppers who were just as important to its success. The result of their collective efforts, she makes clear, was the transformation of a once-obscure category of pre-industrial rural artifacts into an icon of modern national style.

From HRH Princess Michael of Kent, bestselling author of The Queen of Four Kingdoms, comes the extraordinary second volume in the Anjou trilogy. Yolande, the Queen of Four Kingdoms is dead. Agnès Sorel, beautiful, innocent, twenty years old, had arrived a year earlier with the court of Yolande's son, René D'Anjou, and remained with his mother at her request, knowing how much the King of France, her dissolute son-in-law Charles VII, would need wise guidance. As a trusted confidant of Yolande, Agnès captivates everyone she meets, and in her role as a demoiselle to René's wife, Isabelle of Lorraine, Agnès finds herself firmly ensconced in the royal court. Soon though, whispers at court regarding Charles's burgeoning feelings for her begin to grow, and despite her best efforts to resist, Agnès is alarmed to discover that she too is in love. Plagued by guilt but unable to deny her feelings for the King, Agnès is forced to choose between her love for Charles, and her duty to herself . . . Praise for The Queen of Four Kingdoms: 'Meticulously researched and powerfully evoked.' Philippa Gregory 'Takes the reader to the heart of this glamorous, dangerous world, and holds them spellbound. I loved it.' Julian Fellowes 'Riveting . . . spellbinding.' Mail on Sunday 'A page-turning blend of epic battles, betrayal, seduction and heroism.' Hello

This book argues that beauty challenges us to find meaning in its object, to make critical comparisons, and to examine our own lives and emotions in the light of what we find. The book examines the importance of beauty not only in terms of art and aesthetics, but also within the context of the current post-religious age. It engages with the philosophical works of Roger Scruton and William Desmond, and endorses and addresses many important discussions surrounding art and beauty found in the works of Plato, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. It also takes seriously the role of poetry and painting to explore the theme that runs through this research: the idea that beauty is rationally found. Meditations on the art of Manet, Van Gogh, Delacroix, Rembrandt, and other artists, together with the voices of several poets, show us that beauty cannot be reduced to aesthetics only. Irreducible to philosophy, religion, or aesthetics, the notion of beauty is deeply examined in all its forms and spiritual meaning.

When scientists describe their results or insights as 'beautiful', are they using the term differently from when they use it of a landscape, music or another person? Science and the Truthfulness of Beauty re-examines the way in which seeing beauty in the world plays the key role in scientific advances, and argues that the reliance on such a personal point of view is ultimately justified by belief that we are made in the 'image of God', as Christian and Jewish believers assert. It brings a fresh voice to the ongoing debate about faith and science, and suggests that scientists have as much explaining to do as believers when it comes to the ways they reach their conclusions.

Augustine’s writings influenced the development of Western philosophy and Western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period. His many important works include The City of God, On Christian Doctrine, and Confessions. His masterpieces has spawned innumerable other books and articles since. Later philosophers and theologians have been deeply influenced by The City of God, with its impact being felt from literature and historiography. Its greatest influence has been within the Christian church itself. Classic About the Timeless City is now an undisputed classic. The sheer scope of the work is impressive. 1. The City of God 2. On Christian Doctrine 3. The Confessions of Saint Augustine 4. Letters of Saint Augustine 5. The Soliloquies 6. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 7. Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, According to Matthew 8. The Harmony of the Gospels 9. On the Holy Trinity 10. The Fifteen Books of Aurelius Augustinus, Bishop of Hippo, on the Trinity 11. Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 12. Doctrinal Treatises 13. On Faith and the Creed 14. Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen 15. Moral Treatises 16. Of the Work of Monks 17. Anti-Pelagian Writings 18. Anti-Manichaean Writings 19. Anti-Donatist Writings 20. Sermons (Homilies)