"Why, asks Rebecca Davis, did conversions seem so prevalent between the mid-1940s and the late 1990s, and why did people care? Examining the highly-publicized and controversial conversions of individuals include Clare Boothe Luce (Protestantism to Catholicism), Whittaker Chambers ("godless Communist" to Christianity), Sammy Davis, Jr., (Christianity to Judaism), and Muhammad Ali (Christianity to Islam), Davis roots this dynamic in Cold War culture,...

Analyzing the modernist art movement that arose in Cairo and Alexandria from the late nineteenth century through the 1960s, Alex Dika Seggerman reveals how the visual arts were part of a multifaceted transnational modernism. While the work of diverse, major Egyptian artists during this era may have appeared to be secular, she argues, it reflected the subtle but essential inflection of Islam, as a faith, history, and lived experience, in the overarching...

Much has changed since Camille Paglia first burst onto the scene with her groundbreaking Sexual Personae, but the laser-sharp insights of this major American thinker continue to be ahead of the curve--not only capturing the tone of the moment but also often anticipating it. Opening with a blazing manifesto of an introduction in which Paglia outlines the bedrock beliefs that inform her writing--freedom of speech, the necessity of fearless inquiry,...

Travel back in time to discover works of art that have vanished from the record, as well as those that went missing and have since been reclaimed or recovered. From the treasures of Tutankhamun to the altarpiece of Ghent, a missing Fabergé egg, and Vincent van Gogh's majestic Sunset at Montmajour, numerous masterpieces have disappeared throughout history as a result of theft, looting, natural catastrophe, or conflict... And some have resurfaced decades...

"The China Questions 2 assembles top experts to explore the key considerations in US-China relations today, including conflict over Taiwan, economic and military competition, public health concerns, and areas of cooperation. Rejecting the new-Cold War mindset, the authors take the world's most important bilateral relationship on its own terms"--