The Theatre of Apparitions by Roger Ballen

In Praise of Theatre is Alain Badiou’s latest work on the ‘most complete of the arts,’ the theatrical stage. This book, certain to be of great interest to scholars and theatre practitioners alike, elaborates the theory of the theatre developed by Badiou in works such as Rhapsody for the Theatre and the ‘Theses on Theatre’ and enquires into the status of a theatre that would be adequate to our ‘contemporary, market-oriented chaos.’ In a departure from his usual emphasis upon canonical figures of the stage such as Bertolt Brecht and Samuel Beckett, Badiou devotes In Praise of Theatre largely to a consideration of contemporary practitioners, including Jan Fabre, Brigitte Jacques and Romeo Castellucci. In addition, the book features an incisive analysis of the precarious status of the theatre today, in which Badiou describes not only the current threats to the theatre from the right, but the far more insidious threat from the left.

Combining phenomenological analysis and affect theory, this book takes stock of the various ways in which the body in Samuel Beckett’s drama participates in the affective ecology of performance. If the post-human innovation up until the present has worked to decentre the ‘human’, by rendering notions of thinking, experience, and affect impersonal and by developing new models of expression and communication, then this innovation seems to be already underway in Beckett’s theatre of affect where the assault against language is made possible through the thematising of the body as a mode of encountering presence. The corporeal turn in Beckett’s drama therefore has far-reaching implications for the production of meaning in his work.

Corporate and government scandals continue to deepen our mistrust of leaders. While credibility is the foundation of effective leadership, most leaders struggle, and sometimes fail, to align their words and their actions. Now for the first time, leadership expert Tony Simons has measured the bottom-line value of business leaders who live by their word and actually do what they say they are going to do. In The Integrity Dividend, Tony Simons shows how leaders? personal integrity drives the profitability and overall success of their organization. This groundbreaking book is based in on solid research and reveals that businesses led by managers of higher integrity enjoy deeper employee commitment, lower turnover, superior customer service, and substantially higher profitability. This improved performance is the integrity dividend. Simons conducted dozens of focus groups, surveyed thousands of employees, collected financial and operational numbers, and interviewed over 100 senior executives and executive coaches. The book lays out the research clearly and provides proven tools for managing common integrity challenges. It offers guidance for building individual credibility and for creating an organizational culture of integrity and accountability. Throughout, Simons uses real-world insight and stories drawn from senior executives, line managers, and coaches. The Integrity Dividend is a fresh view of leadership at a time when it is most needed.

An anthology celebrating the witches and sorcerers of epic fantasy–featuring stories by George R. R. Martin, Scott Lynch, Megan Lindholm, and many more!Hot on the heels of Gardner Dozois’s (Rogues, Old Venus) acclaimed anthology The Book of Swords comes this companion volume devoted to magic. How could it be otherwise? For every Frodo, there is a Gandalf…and a Saruman. For every Dorothy, a Glinda…and a Wicked Witch of the West. What would Harry Potter be without Albus Dumbledore…and Severus Snape?Figures of wisdom and power, possessing arcane, often forbidden knowledge, wizards and sorcerers are shaped–or misshaped–by the potent magic they seek to wield. Yet though their abilities may be godlike, these men and women remain human…some might say all too human. Such is their curse. And their glory.In these pages, seventeen of today’s top fantasy writers–including award-winners K. J. Parker (The Two of Swords), Megan Lindholm (The Windsingers), John Crowley (The Deep), Tim Powers (Last Call), Liz Williams (Snake Agent), Elizabeth Bear (Eternal Sky Trilogy), George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire), Kate Elliott (The Court of Fives Trilogy), Scott Lynch (The Republic of Thieves), and more–cast wondrous spells that thrillingly evoke the mysterious, awesome, and at times downright terrifying worlds where magic reigns supreme: worlds as far away as forever…and as near as next door.

Roger Waters – The Lockdown Sessions LP

A sharp and provocative new essay collection from the award-winning author of Freedom and The CorrectionsIn The End of the End of the Earth, which gathers essays and speeches written mostly in the past five years, Jonathan Franzen returns with renewed vigour to the themes – both human and literary – that have long preoccupied him. Whether exploring his complex relationship with his uncle, recounting his young adulthood in New York, or offering an illuminating look at the global seabird crisis, these pieces contain all the wit and disabused realism that we’ve come to expect from Franzen.Taken together, these essays trace the progress of a unique and mature mind wrestling with itself, with literature and with some of the most important issues of our day, made more pressing by the current political milieu. The End of the End of the Earth is remarkable, provocative and necessary.

All three parts of the epic masterpiece The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers & The Return of the King – available as one download, featuring the definitive edition of the text, hyperlinked footnotes and page references, and 3 maps including a detailed map of Middle-earth.Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power – the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring – the ring that rules them all – which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as the Ring is entrusted to his care. He must leave his home and make a perilous journey across the realms of Middle-earth to the Crack of Doom, deep inside the territories of the Dark Lord. There he must destroy the Ring forever and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.Since it was first published in 1954, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ has been a book people have treasured. Steeped in unrivalled magic and otherworldliness, its sweeping fantasy has touched the hearts of young and old alike.

TRANSYLVANIA IS BURNING!As vampire civil war throws the world into chaos, the mysterious Shadow Colonel and his squad of undead revolutionaries have one burning question on their murderous minds: Where is Dracula? And if the Avengers find him fi rst, will the lord of the damned be friend or foe?COLLECTING: AVENGERS 13-17

TRANSYLVANIA IS BURNING! As vampire civil war throws the world into chaos, the mysterious Shadow Colonel and his squad of undead revolutionaries have one burning question on their murderous minds: Where is Dracula? And if the Avengers find him fi rst, will the lord of the damned be friend or foe? COLLECTING: AVENGERS 13-17