NEW IN THE BOOKSHOP
The Invisible Dragon: Essays on Beauty ($22 cloth) was originally published in 1993 and championed by artists for its forceful call for a reconsideration of beauty—and savaged by more theoretically oriented critics who dismissed the very concept of beauty as naive, igniting a debate that has shown no sign of flagging. With this revised and expanded edition, author Dave Hickey aims squarely at the hyper-institutionalism that, in Hickey’s view, denies the real pleasures that draw us to art in the first place. Deploying the works of Warhol, Raphael, Caravaggio, and Mapplethorpe and the writings of Ruskin, Shakespeare, Deleuze, and Foucault, Hickey takes on museum culture, arid academicism, politics, and more—all in the service of making readers rethink the nature of art.
Nearly every empire has sought an Egyptian obelisk to place in the center of a ceremonial space. Obelisks serve no practical purpose, and for much of their history their Egyptian inscriptions were completely inscrutable. Yet over the centuries dozens of obelisks have made the voyage from Egypt to Rome, Constantinople, and Florence; to Paris, London, and New York. Obelisks, everyone seems to sense, connote some very special sort of power. The beautifully illustrated new book Obelisk: A History ($27.95 hardcover) traces the fate and many meanings of obelisks across nearly forty centuries—what they meant to the Egyptians, and how other cultures have borrowed, interpreted, understood, and misunderstood them through the years.
In the spring of 399 BC, Socrates stood trial in his native Athens and, after being found guilty by his peers, died by drinking a cup of the poison hemlock. This story is a defining moment in ancient civilization, yet time has transmuted the facts into a fable. In his new book ($27.95), author & translator Robin Waterfield examines the actual Greek sources and presents a new Socrates, not an atheist or guru, but a deeply moral thinker whose convictions stood in stark relief to those of his former disciple, Alcibiades, the hawkish and self-serving military leader. Refusing to surrender his beliefs even in the face of death, Socrates, as Waterfield reveals, was determined to save a country that was tearing itself apart.Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths
SPRING CLEARANCE SALE
3-day sale, Thursday, April 2 through Saturday, April 4, 2009
During our annual Spring Clearance Sale, our unique selection of art and history books, notecards, DVDs, world music CDs, replica jewelry and statuary, and educational gifts for children will all be discounted 20%. Hundreds of special sale books will be featured in front of the shop, already price-reduced, that will also be discounted 20% for even greater savings. For more information, contact the Museum Bookshop at 404-727-0509.
(Note: special sale discounts do not combine with membership discounts; proceeds support the programs and operations of the Michael C. Carlos Museum)
HAVE A CUP OF COFFEE, ON US!
During the month of March, Carlos Museum Members who purchase at least $20 worth of books or gifts will receive one coupon good for a large cup of coffee or tea at Caffe Antico (Please, only one coupon per museum member purchase, no more than one coupon per day).
ABOUT THE CARLOS MUSEUM BOOKSHOP
The Carlos Museum Bookshop stocks hundreds of titles on art, archaeology, history, and mythology for both adults and children, with an emphasis on the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Near East, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. The Museum Bookshop is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday noon to 5 pm, offering a unique selection of books, jewelry, statuary, cards, world music, DVDs, and other gift items. To place an order, contact the Bookshop at 404-727-0509 or by email at mburell@emory.edu, or print out an order form at http://carlos.emory.edu/PDF/orderform.pdf. Your purchases support the programs & operations of the Michael C. Carlos Museum.
Check in with our website at http://carlos.emory.edu/BOOKSHOP/
