The lever appears to be a very simple object, a tool used since ancient times for the most primitive of tasks: to lift and to balance. Why, then, were prominent intellectuals active around 1800 in areas as diverse as science, philosophy, and literature inspired to think and write about levers? In The Lever as Instrument of Reason, readers will discover the remarkable ways in which the lever is used to model the construction of knowledge and to mobilize new ideas among diverse disciplines. These acts of construction are shown to model key aspects of the human, from the more abstract processes of moral decision-making to a quite literal equation of the powerful human ego with the supposed stability and power of the fulcrum point.

The lever appears to be a very simple object, a tool used since ancient times for the most primitive of tasks: to lift and to balance. Why, then, were prominent intellectuals active around 1800 in areas as diverse as science, philosophy, and literature inspired to think and write about levers? In The Lever as Instrument of Reason, readers will discover the remarkable ways in which the lever is used to model the construction of knowledge and to mobilize new ideas among diverse disciplines. These acts of construction are shown to model key aspects of the human, from the more abstract processes of moral decision-making to a quite literal equation of the powerful human ego with the supposed stability and power of the fulcrum point.

In this volume collaborators from different universities all over the world explore a wide variety of methods for the study of literature as cultural memory. In literature, the past may be (re)constructed in various ways and in very diverse forms. This immediately raises the question as to how one can describe and inventory the various discourses and metadiscourses of historical representation. In what sense can the rhetoric of literary historiography itself contribute to literature's function as cultural memory? Which methods of analysis are most appropriate for describing specific text types or genres as cultural memory? What have been the pragmatic uses and the ethical merits of the stability and continuity that literature has often provided for European, American, Asian and African cultures? What are the dilemmas they create for our teaching at the end of the twentieth century? To all these questions, a wide range of scholars here tries to find answers. In thorough and highly original contributions, they not only address theoretical problems, but also engage themselves in practical analyses of specific works.

The second edition of Susan J. Maclagan’s A Dictionary for the Modern Flutist presents clear and concise definitions of more than 1,600 common flute-related terms that a player of the Boehm-system or Baroque flute may encounter. Fully illustrated with more than 150 images, the entries describe flute types, flute parts; playing techniques; acoustics; articulations; intonation; common ornaments; flute-making and repairs; flute history; flute music books, and many more topics. Unique to the second edition are entries on beatbox techniques and muscles of the face and throat. Entries now also feature bibliographic cross-references for further research. Carefully labeled illustrations for many flute types, parts, mechanisms, and accessories help make definitions easier to visualize. Appendixes provide further information on such subjects as flute classifications, types of flutes and their parts, key and tone hole names, head joint options, orchestra and opera audition excerpts, and biographies of people mentioned in the definitions. Contributed articles include “An Easy Guide to Checking Your Flute Tuning and Scale” by Trevor Wye; “Flute Clutches” by David Shorey; "Early Music on Modern Flute” by Barthold Kuijken; and “Crowns and Stoppers” and “Boehm Flute Scales from 1847 to the Present:The Short Story” by Gary Lewis. Maclagan’s A Dictionary for the Modern Flutist, second edition is an essential reference volume for flutists of all levels and for libraries supporting student, professional, and amateur musicians.