"The greatest painting collection in the Western United States" was the Los Angeles Times Magazine's accolade for the Norton Simon Museum, a stunning group of masterpieces assembled by one man in the brief span of thirty-five years. -- A brilliant businessman with a keen mind and remarkable instincts, Norton Simon built a consumer conglomerate that included Hunt-Wesson Foods, McCall Publishing, Canada Dry Corporation, May Factor cosmetics, and Avis Car Rental, When his interests turned to art, he used his business acumen, inquisitive intellect, and aggressive style to pursue and purchase more than 8,000 works of art, For Hunt Foods, Norton Simon adopted the advertising slogan, "Hunt for the Best". The catchphrase also came to symbolize Simon's zealous pursuit of impeccable artworks as he built one of the greatest art collections of the twentieth century. -- Collector Without Wall is a concise and complete illustrated history of Norton Simon's odyssey, Chronicling his acquisitions from his first $300 purchase through more than 1700 separate transactions. The reader glimpses Simon's intriguing and charismatic personality and gains insight into the collector and his collection. A fully-illustrated catalogue of all of Simon's acquisitions and deaccessions provides an invaluable tool for scholars. -- The book draws from the extensive Norton Simon Museum archives and dozens of interviews with his friends, colleagues, art dealers, and museum professionals, as well as unpublished conversations with, and writings by, Norton Simon. --Book Jacket.

This book presents the collectors’ roles as prominently as the collections of books and texts which they assembled. Contributors explore the activities and networks shaping a range of continental and transcontinental European public and private collections during the Renaissance, Enlightenment and modern eras. They study the impact of class, geographical location and specific cultural contexts on the gathering and use of printed and handwritten texts and other printed artefacts. The volume explores the social dimension of book collecting, and considers how practices of collecting developed during these periods of profound cultural, social and political change.

‘Women who follow Jesus are passionate and dynamic, forging ahead and unafraid of putting their faith into practice. In their every walk of life, they are God’s agents of change.’ We live in a scary world, torn apart by them-and-us thinking and threatened by disease, violence and environmental destruction. How does God shape women to be pro-active in society as Christian disciples, equipping them to build community and change the world around them? Jesus calls men and women alike to be ambassadors of God’s kingdom in society. What kind of spiritual journey can strengthen them to rise to this challenge, engage in the public arena and thrive as the strong, significant players in mission that God calls them to be? This is the question that lies at the heart of this book. Reflecting on the parable of the yeast and weaving together the stories of women from the Bible with those of Christian history, the author reflects on the experiences of women such as Alice Domon and St. Perpetua, Sojourner Truth and Amy Carmichael. She offers inspiration and encouragement to all women of today who seek to become passionate followers of Christ, faithful to the values of God’s kingdom in every aspect of their daily lives.

Thinking about ultimate reality is becoming increasingly transreligious. This transreligious turn follows inevitably from the discovery of divine truths in multiple traditions. Global communications bring the full range of religious ideas and practices to anyone with access to the internet. Moreover, the growth of the nones and those who describe themselves as spiritual but not religious creates a pressing need for theological thinking not bound by prescribed doctrines and fixed rituals. This book responds to this vital need. The chapters in this volume each examine the claim that if the aim of theology is to know and articulate all we can about the divine reality, and if revelations, enlightenments, and insights into that reality are not limited to a single tradition, then what is called for is a theology without confessional restrictions. In other words, a Theology Without Walls. To ground the project in examples, the volume provides emerging models of transreligious inquiry. It also includes sympathetic critics who raise valid concerns that such a theology must face. This is a book that will be of urgent interest to theologians, religious studies scholars, and philosophers of religion. It will be especially suitable for those interested in comparative theology, inter-religious and interfaith understanding, new trends in constructive theology, normative religious studies, and global philosophy of religion.

Examines the introduction of Mexican muralism to the United States in the 1930s, and the challenges faced by the artists, their medium, and the political overtones of their work in a new society.

"The Garden Without Walls" by Coningsby Dawson is a singular that unfolds against the backdrop of World War I, supplying a poignant exploration of human relationships and the effect of war on the lives of individuals. Coningsby Dawson, a British author and soldier born in 1883, draws upon his personal reports as a participant inside the battle to infuse authenticity into this compelling narrative. The tale revolves around the protagonist, Philip Arnold, who, like Dawson, serves as a soldier at some stage in the Great War. The novel delves into the psychological and emotional toll of the battle, portraying the demanding situations confronted by way of infantrymen and the stress it puts on their personal lives. At its middle, "The Garden Without Walls" is a reflection on the human situation in times of crisis, analyzing issues of love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit. Dawson's writing captures the nuances of conflict, presenting readers a glimpse into the camaraderie amongst soldiers, the cruel realities of the battlefield, and the profound effect on individuals and their loved ones. The novel is going past the traditional conflict narrative, focusing on the internal struggles and variations of its characters.

In this astonishingly assured, exquisitely crafted debut collection, Anthony Doerr takes readers from the African coast to the suburbs of Ohio, from sideshow pageantry to harsh wilderness survival, charting a vast and varied emotional landscape. Like the best storytellers, Doerr explores the human condition in all its manifestations: metamorphosis, grief, fractured relationships, and slowly mending hearts. Most dazzling is Doerr's gift for conjuring nature in both its beautiful abundance and crushing power. Some of his characters contend with tremendous hardship; some discover unique gifts; all are united by their ultimate deference to the mysteries of their respective landscapes.