https://arab.news/znx68
Author: Johan Ma
The Greek polis, or city-state, was a resilient and adaptable political institution founded on the principles of citizenship, freedom, and equality.
Emerging around 650 BCE and enduring to 350 CE, it offered a means for collaboration among fellow city-states and social bargaining between a community and its elites — but at what cost?
Polis proposes a panoramic account of the ancient Greek city-state, its diverse forms, and enduring characteristics over the span of a millenniu.
Author: Mark Brazil
This richly illustrated guide is the first comprehensive and accessible introduction to the extraordinary natural history of the Japanese archipelago.
It explains how Japan’s geology, geography, climate, seas and currents have forged conditions supporting a diverse range of species—from cranes, bears, eagles and monkeys to plants, butterflies, dragonflies, frogs and snakes—many of which are found nowhere else in the world.
Engaging and authoritative, this book is a must-have for anyone who wants to explore or learn about Japan’s natural wonders, from the Japanese Macaque—the famous snow monkeys—to the magnificent Steller’s Eagle.
When presented with a plate of piping hot French fries, what condiment do you reach for to slather, drizzle or dip into?
If you’ve ever wondered about your choice, there is a new book that will speak to your soul.
“The Condiment Book,” published late 2024, is a comprehensive guide celebrating the unsung heroes and supporting stars of our meals.
From timeless staples like ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard and butter (in their various iterations) to more adventurous hot sauces, ferments, pickles, dressings, oils and dips, the book explores the myriad ways in which condiments enhance our everyday dining. Add a little squeeze, a giant dollop or a sprinkling and it completely changes the whole meal and your experience.
Packed with recipes, flavor pairings and historical insights in an Instagrammable-ready format, each page is a love letter to a condiment.
Author Claire Dinhut, better known as “Condiment Claire,” describes herself as not a chef but a “flavor adventurer.” She has built a loyal following with her engaging content, particularly on TikTok, where she taste-tests and rates everything from jams to butters.
“This book is about curiosity,” she writes. “What excites our taste buds? How can we evoke feelings with every bite? How can we travel the world while sitting at a table?”
Dinhut begins by addressing the fundamental question: What is a condiment? She explains how the term originates from the Latin “condire,” meaning “to preserve, pickle, season, spice, render pleasant or enhance flavor.” In ancient Rome, a “condominium” referred to any sauce — an addition not strictly necessary but which always elevated the dish.
However, she clarifies: “This is not a cookbook. Instead, think of this book as a flavor manual.”
While it includes recipes for homemade condiments, Dinhut reassures readers that store-bought is perfectly fine. In her words, the book serves as a “personal diary of fun eats to tantalize our taste buds and keep life exciting.”
And it is does not simply provide a sprinkling of recipes; it delivers historical gems, too.
For instance, did you know the first ketchup had a fishy story? Originating in Hokkien Chinese as “ke-tsiap,” the original version was likely made from fermented fish. It was not until 1812 in the US that tomato ketchup as we know it made its debut.
Dinhut’s non-cookbook is an invitation to embrace curiosity, creativity, and flavor in every bite and is itself a complementary condiment for your collection of recipe books.
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “White Nights” is a hauntingly beautiful novella that captures the delicate interplay of dreams and reality, love and loneliness.
Written in 1848, this early work by the Russian master offers a poignant exploration of human emotions, showcasing his remarkable ability to delve into the complexities of the heart.
Told in the first person, the novella invites readers into the world of a nameless narrator, a dreamer who yearns for connection yet struggles with isolation.
Set against the ethereal backdrop of St. Petersburg’s white nights, where the sun barely sets and time feels suspended, the story unfolds over the course of four evenings and one morning.
The narrator, a solitary figure lost in his own fantasies, encounters Nastenka, a young woman whose vitality and vulnerability draw him out of his shell.
What begins as an unlikely meeting blossoms into an intense, fleeting relationship, marked by confessions, shared hopes, and the bittersweet promise of love.
Dostoevsky’s prose is lyrical and evocative, capturing the dreamlike atmosphere of the city and the emotional turbulence of his characters. The narrator’s voice is filled with longing and naivety, his idealism and vulnerability making him both endearing and tragic.
Nastenka, meanwhile, is a figure of contrasts — at once strong-willed and dependent, hopeful and heartbroken. Together, they create a dynamic that is as tender as it is heartbreaking.
At its core, “White Nights” is a meditation on loneliness and the human desire for connection. Dostoevsky paints a vivid picture of the narrator’s internal world, a place filled with grandiose dreams but devoid of real companionship.
The fleeting relationship with Nastenka becomes a mirror for his yearning, offering him a taste of the intimacy he craves while underscoring its impermanence. Their encounters are imbued with a sense of fragility, as if the story itself might dissolve with the dawn.
The novella also explores the tension between reality and fantasy, a theme that runs through much of Dostoevsky’s work.
The narrator’s idealized view of love clashes with the complexities of Nastenka’s situation, creating a narrative that is as much about disillusionment as it is about hope.
In this way, “White Nights” reflects Dostoevsky’s early interest in the psychological struggles that would later define his great novels.
Though brief, “White Nights” is rich in emotional depth and literary beauty. It captures the universal experience of longing, the ache of unfulfilled dreams, and the bittersweet nature of human connections that are as fleeting as the white nights themselves.
For readers new to Dostoevsky, the novella serves as an accessible entry point to his work, while longtime admirers will recognize the seeds of the psychological insight and moral complexity that define his later masterpieces.
In “White Nights,” Dostoevsky creates a timeless portrait of the human spirit — its capacity for love, vulnerability to heartbreak, and endless yearning for something just out of reach.
It is a story that lingers in the mind, much like the soft glow of a St. Petersburg summer night, leaving readers both moved and reflective.
“Birds at Rest” is the first book to give a full picture of how birds rest, roost, and sleep, a vital part of their lives.
It features new science that can measure what is happening in a bird’s brain over the course of a night or when it has flown to another hemisphere, as well as still-valuable observations by legendary naturalists such as John James Audubon, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Theodore Roosevelt. Much of what they saw and what ornithologists are studying today can be observed and enjoyed by any birder.
Author: Wassim M. Haddad
“A Dynamical Systems Theory of Thermodynamics” develops a postmodern theory of thermodynamics as part of mathematical dynamical systems theory.
This book merges the two universalisms of thermodynamics and dynamical systems theory in a single compendium, with the latter providing an ideal language for the former, to develop a new and unique framework for dynamical thermodynamics.
In particular, the book uses system-theoretic ideas to bring coherence, clarity, and precision to an important and poorly understood classical area of science.
