Anxious about the threat of Ottoman invasion and a religious schism that threatened Christianity from within, sixteenth-century northern Europeans increasingly saw their world as disharmonious and full of mutual contradictions. Examining the work of four unusual but influential northern Europeans as they faced Europe's changing identity, Jennifer Nelson reveals the ways in which these early modern thinkers and artists grappled with the problem of cultural, religious, and cosmological difference in relation to notions of universals and the divine. Focusing on northern Europe during the first half of the sixteenth century, this book proposes a complementary account of a Renaissance and Reformation for which epistemology is not so much destabilized as pluralized. Addressing a wide range of media-including paintings, etchings and woodcuts, university curriculum regulations, clocks, sundials, anthologies of proverbs, and astrolabes-Nelson argues that inconsistency, discrepancy, and contingency were viewed as fundamental features of worldly existence. Taking as its starting point Hans Holbein's famously complex double portrait The Ambassadors, and then examining Philipp Melanchthon's measurement-minded theology of science, Georg Hartmann's modular sundials, and Desiderius Erasmus's eclectic Adages, Disharmony of the Spheres is a sophisticated and challenging reconsideration of sixteenth-century northern European culture and its discomforts. Carefully researched and engagingly written, Disharmony of the Spheres will be of vital interest to historians of early modern European art, religion, science, and culture.

"The Ambassador's Dog" is a story of the power of serendipitous meetings, the power of dreams, and the power of hope. Written by retired career diplomat and three-time Ambassador Scott DeLisi and illustrated by award-winning artist, Jane Lillian Vance, it tells the tale of a puppy, abandoned and alone, who waited on a trail in what once was the ancient kingdom of Lo on the Tibetan plateau. And it's the tale of the man who was meant to cross his path. It's more than just another dog story, though. It's an important reminder, at a difficult time, that there is compassion and courage and hope to be found in the world if only our hearts are open to seeing them

The Ambassadors--the famous portrait of two diplomats visiting Henry VIII's court in London 1533--has long been celebrated by art historians. Traditionally the painting has been seen as representing the political and religious unrest of its day. Now, historian John North, author of Stonehenge: A New Interpretation of Prehistoric Man and the Cosmos, once again uses his investigative skills to reinterpret history. In this radical reinterpretation of the painting John North shows that the work has a very different and previously undetected, central theme. Far from being random, the objects are very deliberately placed. Part international riddle, part art history, and part French history, the book opens a remarkable window on the world of the Renaissance.

A collection of comic strips by Robert Harvey that feature Gordo.

Recipient of a 2023 Certificate of Merit for Best Historical Research in Recorded Jazz from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections Keith Hatschek tells the story of three determined artists: Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, and Iola Brubeck and the stand they took against segregation by writing and performing a jazz musical titled The Real Ambassadors. First conceived by the Brubecks in 1956, the musical’s journey to the stage for its 1962 premiere tracks extraordinary twists and turns across the backdrop of the civil rights movement. A variety of colorful characters, from Broadway impresarios to gang-connected managers, surface in the compelling storyline. During the Cold War, the US State Department enlisted some of America’s greatest musicians to serve as jazz ambassadors, touring the world to trumpet a so-called “free society.” Honored as celebrities abroad, the jazz ambassadors, who were overwhelmingly African Americans, returned home to racial discrimination and deferred dreams. The Brubecks used this double standard as the central message for the musical, deploying humor and pathos to share perspectives on American values. On September 23, 1962, The Real Ambassadors’s stunning debut moved a packed arena at the Monterey Jazz Festival to laughter, joy, and tears. Although critics unanimously hailed the performance, it sadly became a footnote in cast members’ bios. The enormous cost of reassembling the star-studded cast made the creation impossible to stage and tour. However, The Real Ambassadors: Dave and Iola Brubeck and Louis Armstrong Challenge Segregation caps this jazz story by detailing how the show was triumphantly revived in 2013 by the Detroit Jazz Festival and in 2014 by Jazz at Lincoln Center. This reaffirmed the musical’s place as an integral part of America’s jazz history and served as an important reminder of how artists’ voices are a powerful force for social change.

A gorgeous, authorized celebration of one of the most popular and enduring Super Heroes of all time—Wonder Woman—that chronicles the life and times of this pop-culture phenomenon and image of women’s strength and power, from her origins and role as a founding member of the Justice League to her evolution in television and film. "As lovely as Aphrodite—as wise as Athena—with the speed of Mercury and the strength of Hercules—she is known only as Wonder Woman, but who she is, or whence she came, nobody knows!"—All-Star Comics #8 (December 1941-January 1942) Created by William Moulton Marston and introduced at the beginning of America’s involvement in World War II, Wonder Woman—the fierce warrior and diplomat armed with bulletproof Bracelets of Victory, a golden tiara, and a Lasso of Truth—has been a pop-culture icon and one of the most enduring symbols of feminism for more than seventy-five years. Wonder Woman: Ambassador of Truth now tells the complete illustrated story of this iconic character’s creative journey. Signe Bergstrom examines Wonder Woman’s diverse media representations from her wartime comic book origins to today’s feature films, and explores the impact she has had on women’s rights and empowerment and the fight for peace, justice, and equality across the globe. Wonder Woman: Ambassador of Truth brings together a breathtaking collage of images—from the DC comic books, the 1970s-era television show starring Lynda Carter, her numerous animated appearances, the June 2017 Wonder Woman feature film called "the best DC universe film yet", and the November 2017 film Justice League. Fully authorized by Warner Bros. Consumer Products, this lush full-color compendium features inserts and exclusive interactives, and illuminating interviews and anecdotes from key artists, writers, and personalities involved in bringing Wonder Woman to life across the years. WONDER WOMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics. (s17)