Throughout the long course of literature, islands have accumulated uncanny connotations of death, together with peculiarities of linguistic definition and expression. Since the age of discovery, after the Caribbean Islands, America itself, and later the archipelagos and atolls in the Pacific became known to travellers and conquistadores, islands have been sought, searched, explored and physically possessed as women; cultural recognition takes the form of sexual and physical possession (Venus was born from the sea, and is identified with an island). These are the themes of the first two variations discussed in this book.

When Mildred and John Teal moved to Sapelo Island, Georgia, in 1955, they stepped back in time to a virtually undeveloped landscape of salt marsh, maritime forest, freshwater ponds, sand dunes, and beaches. Over the course of a four-year stay their careful observations of the island's unique marine ecology and wonderfully varied flora and fauna became the basis for Portrait of an Island. The island's human history dates back more than four thousand years. The lure of Sapelo has drawn many to its shores, including tobacco millionaire R. J. Reynolds, who established the University of Georgia Marine Institute there in the 1950s. Surrounded by sixteen thousand acres of pristine marsh, Sapelo offers researchers and the public a rare opportunity for environmental studies. Now a state game refuge and national estuarine sanctuary, the island remains a special haven where humans and nature quietly and peacefully coexist. Portrait of an Island is essential reading for anyone who treasures tranquility.

"Once you have slept on an island, you'll never be quite the same", begins an old verse. Places of dreams and desires, islands have long held a primal sway over our hearts and imaginations. In this beautifully written, exquisitely illustrated book, Louise Young explores some of the most fascinating of these isolated landscapes, particularly those whose stories address the delicate balance that exists between the land, the people, and other living things. An environmentalist and geophysicist, Young describes the unique history and personality of each island -- its birth and evolution, the geology that has shaped its landscape, and its human, plant, and animal inhabitants. From the volcanic origins of Sri Lanka's spectacular jewel mines and the remarkable flora and fauna of Madagascar to the mysterious statues on Easter Island and the earth-splitting geology of Iceland, Islands takes readers on a breathtaking journey to some of the smallest -- yet most impressive -- places on the planet. The stories behind these miniature worlds are as varied as their exotic landscapes -- some are tragic, others are hopeful, but they all reveal important messages about preserving ecological balance and the consequences of how we exploit or nurture the larger island of Earth itself.

The Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography is the first comprehensive encyclopedia of world photography up to the beginning of the twentieth century. It sets out to be the standard, definitive reference work on the subject for years to come. Its coverage is global – an important ‘first’ in that authorities from all over the world have contributed their expertise and scholarship towards making this a truly comprehensive publication. The Encyclopedia presents new and ground-breaking research alongside accounts of the major established figures in the nineteenth century arena. Coverage includes all the key people, processes, equipment, movements, styles, debates and groupings which helped photography develop from being ‘a solution in search of a problem’ when first invented, to the essential communication tool, creative medium, and recorder of everyday life which it had become by the dawn of the twentieth century. The sheer breadth of coverage in the 1200 essays makes the Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography an essential reference source for academics, students, researchers and libraries worldwide.

What makes stories about portraits so gripping and unsettling? Portrait Stories argues that it is the ways they problematize the relation between subjectivity and representation. Through close readings of short stories and novellas by Poe, James, Hoffmann, Gautier, Nerval, Balzac, Kleist, Hardy, Wilde, Storm, Sand, and Gogol, the author shows how the subjectivities of sitter, painter, and viewer are produced in relation to representations shaped by particular interests and power relations, often determined by gender as well as by class. She focuses on the power that can accrue to the painter from the act of representation (often at the expense of the portrait’s subject), while also exploring how and why this act may threaten the portrait painter’s sense of self. Analyzing the viewer’s relation to the portrait, she demonstrates how portrait stories problematize the very act of seeing and with it the way subjectivity is constructed in the field of vision.

First Edition. 204 pages. Full-color. Queen Elizabeth II has been documented in an unusual way: Her Majesty’s portraits on banknotes of 29 countries. Her Majesty's portrait has been featured on the banknotes of 29 countries, the world's most featured portrait on banknotes since 1935 when she was only 9 years old. This educational and numismatic book covers over 500 high resolution banknote images, bring these beautiful pieces of currency, many now rarities, to life. 204 pages. Published in 2006 and the only banknotes reference and catalog in the world. The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on banknotes in every continent except Antarctica. The first country to feature the queen on bills was Canada, which issued a banknote in 1935 featuring her as an 8-year old. Reviews: "I recently purchased a copy of a reference book of Queen Elizabeth banknote portraits by Peter Eu and Ben Chiew. The book is interesting in the fact that it is (so far) the definitive reference work of every banknote bearing the engraved image of Queen Elizabeth II. And when you think about it that's quite a feat. Elizabeth has reigned (or ruled) since 1952, so for the past 68 years countless banknotes from numerous UK Commonwealths have carried her image. This made me wonder if anyone has ever completed a complete set of QEII banknotes or coinage? Think about it. You'd have to have a complete set of everything Great Britain, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, Belize, Bahamas, Australia, Hong Kong, Cook Island, East Caribbean States, and other commonwealth members have issued since then (somewhere around about 20 countries in all). To attempt such a set would be on the same Herculean scale that Louis Eliasberg did when he completed the only complete set of U.S. coinage back in the 1950's. Anyway, the book is very interesting and features color plates and is over 200 pages. Copies can be found for around $20, which is much cheaper than the deep pockets (not to mention years) a complete collection would cost you to assemble." - Well worn Copper. "Now that is a book I would LOVE in my library. HMMM, gotta start searching. Thanks WWC, you have me on a mission. PS- Just bought a copy!!!" - It's Mokie. "Never got into bank notes. It amazes me the work that must be done to print a reference book. The dedication that it takes for a person or group to put together a book like that. A lot of this type of book does not have a bug audience." - Golfer. "Thanks for that! This is a book ive got to get in my library. Cheers, NM" - TheNumisMaster.

An encyclopaedia of information on major aspects of Pacific life, including the physical environment, peoples, history, politics, economy, society and culture. The CD-ROM contains hyperlinks between section titles and sections, a library of all the maps in the encyclopaedia, and a photo library.