Why are the Elgin Marbles in London and not on the Acropolis?  Why are so many Etruscan masterworks in America? For the past two centuries, the West has been plundering the treasures of the ancient world to fill its great museums, but in recent years, the countries where ancient civilizations originated have begun to push back, taking museums to court and threatening to force the return of these priceless objects.  The author brings us inside this high-stakes conflict, examining the implications for the preservation of the objects themselves and for how we understand our shared cultural heritage. Her journey takes readers from the great cities of Europe and America to Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy, as these countries face down the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum, the British Museum, and the J. Paul Getty Museum. She also introduces a cast of determined and implacable characters whose battles may strip these museums of some of their most cherished treasures.

"Behind almost every painting is a fortune and behind that a sin or a crime." With these words as a starting point, Michael Gross begins the first unauthorized look at the saga of the nation's greatest museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The book covers the entire 138-year history of the Met, focusing on the museum's most colorful characters:  directors and curators of every stripe, artists and forgers, financial geniuses and scoundrels.

Born in India in 1498, Mirabai celebrated both the body and the spirit in her work. By her death in 1550 she was a well-known and well-loved poet throughout her country. Translators Bly and Hirshfield brilliantly revive this sage's work, so full of drama, passion, and yearning. Like Coleman Barks's translations of Rumi, this collection of poems by Mirabai will appeal to anyone interested in spiritual poetry.  Paperback edition available in April 2009.

There are more than six thousand languages used around the world today; by the year 2050 as many as half of those may be extinct. This beautifully designed, engagingly written reference takes us on a panoramic tour of the globe to explore this unique and endangered human gift. Generously illustrated throughout with color photographs, informative sidebars, and clear maps and graphics, One Thousand Languages illuminates the sources, characteristics, and interrelationships of the world's spoken tongues. It looks in detail at the eleven global languages, then delves into the major languages of each world region in turn. The volume also provides information on many extinct languages.

James Howard Kunstler’s books on urban design (The Geography of Nowhere and Home from Nowhere) have been some of the more inspiring and controversial books of the last fifteeen years. With his new work of speculative fiction, he brings to life a possible future America:  after the catastrophes converged—the end of oil, climate change, resource wars, and global pandemics—the people of Union Grove, NY, are doing whatever they can to get by in the absence of functioning governments. Transportation is slow and dangerous, so food is grown locally at great expense of time and energy, and the outside world is largely unknown. Their new lives play out in a world of abandoned highways and empty houses, horses working the fields, and rivers once again healthy and filled with fish.  Within this imagined landscape, the problems and challenges of contemporary life are thrown into high relief.

The author, a professor of history at the University of Tours in France, highlights a variety of artifacts – a textual fragment, a coin, an epigraph – that launches unique journeys back to ancient Greece. From Homer to Damascius, from recent discoveries in Kandahar to an account of the murder of Hypatia in 415 CE, each snapshot captures a moment in the history of Greek civilization and imparts the experience, and the pleasure, of discovering history as discrete stories seen through the eyes of one of the most eminent historians of the ancient world.

This authoritative biography of Moses Maimonides, one of the most influential minds in all of human history, illuminates his life as a philosopher, physician, and lawgiver. Born in 1138 in Cordoba, in Muslim-ruled Spain, he lived in tumultous times, at the peak of the Reconquista in Spain and the crusades in Palestine.  His book Guide of the Perplexed influenced generations of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish thinkers. Here, his life comes alive in a remarkable period in history when these three great faiths clashed and mingled in a setting of intense intellectual exchange and religious conflict.

This is the first compilation of classic Dominican bachata, the sound of the streets of Santo Domingo. Bachata originated in the countryside and rural neighborhoods, usually dealing in tales of romantic woe, and slowly made the transition from acoustic Spanish guitar in the 1960's to electric steel string in the 1980's.

One of the true enigmas of the Nigerian music scene, Sir Victor Uwaifo built his first guitar at age 12 and went on to be awarded Africa's first gold disc in 1969. A musician, poet, philosopher, sculptor, painter, and Commissioner for Culture, he has carved a unique place for himself in the history of African music. His music mixed the ancient culture of the Benin Obas with highlife and a dash of rock and soul.

Composed and performed on traditional Near Eastern instruments by accomplished Arab artist Ali Jihad Racy, this CD is a musical tribute to the ancient treasures and religious symbolism of the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Often identified with the Asante peoples, brass weights for measuring gold dust were used throughout Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire.  Each party to a trade would check the gold using their own weights.  These cufflinks were inspired by weight designs in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American Art.

Imperial court jeweler Carl Faberge and his craftsmen created magnificent eggs not only for Russian nobility, but also for European dignitaries and the Faberge shops.  These imaginatively designed eggs were meticulously crafted in gold and silver with enamel, precious gems, and semiprecious stones.  Our richly colored miniature egg pendants are inspired by these creations.  Available in several different styles and colors.

Just arrived:  a variety of leather journals with acid-free handmade paper, made from 100% recycled cotton fibers.  Journals range from small "healing stone" journals with inset semi-precious stones to large journals featuring Welsh dragon and Celtic cross designs.

Theodosia Throckmorton is in a fix. Allowed to attend a reception given by one of the directors of her parents’ museum, she stumbles across Mr. Tetley of the British Museum—in most unusual circumstances! Since Theo has last seen him in a showdown in an ancient Egyptian tomb, his reappearance could mean only one thing: the Serpents of Chaos are back (last seen in the first book of this series, Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos). Once again Theodosia will have to take on secret societies, evil curses, and dark magic too sinister to imagine, especially if it falls into the wrong hands. For ages 9-12.

On a warm spring day, the beautiful young goddess Persephone is snatched from her home by Hades, god of the Underworld, and taken away to live underground and become his bride. Persephone's mother, Demeter, goddess of Earth, is so brokenhearted that she curses the land so nothing can grow — a permanent winter. How will Persephone and her mother be reunited? Will spring ever come again? This lyrical retelling of the ancient Greek myth will intrigue young readers through its dramatic story as well as by its clever explanation for the changing seasons.  For ages 4-8.

Weak and silent, young Sunjata is unable to walk, unable even to pull a bow, but a prophesy foretold that his mother would bear a son who will become the mansa of all the Mande people—the greatest king ever to rule. Sunjata sets out to find the strength and courage to fulfill his birthright and to overcome the plotting of a rival queen and the sorcery of the terrible tyrant Sumanguru. For ages 9-14.

In this new title in the Graphic Myths and Legends series of comic book mythology, two young boys, the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque, were blessed by the Mayan gods with special powers. But their incredible skill at playing Pok-ta-Pok, the Maya ball game, angers the lords of Xibalba, rulers of the land of the dead. When the lords challenge them to a Pok-ta-Pok game in Xibalba, the twins know they must use all of their powers and cunning to defeat the lords’ many challenges. For ages 9-14.

In this episode of the “Modern Marvels” TV series, the History Channel looks at the beliefs and funerary habits of ancient Egypt, explaining how modern technology has
allowed scientists to study ancient Egyptian mummification. Renowned Egyptologist Dr. Robert Brier reveals how he performed the first body mummification in 2,000 years, using only the tools and techniques available to the Egyptians back in 3000 B.C. Follow scientists as they employ 3-D imaging to investigate the deaths of some of the most recognized mummies in history, including King Tut, and learn how today's high-tech display cases help protect these mummies from the damaging effects of the modern world.

In an ancient Maya arena, enemies of King Yax K'uk Mo square off in a game that appears much like modern soccer. But in this contest, winners live and losers lose their heads. From 200 to 900 A.D., Blood Lords presided over the Maya city of Copan, conducting hallucinogenic vision quests, ritual warfare and human sacrifice. Join archaeologists and historians who are piecing together the fascinating rise and fall of this ancient city.