Bøger af Robert Riggs

Primordial American Terrorists presents a stunning new interpretation of events leading to the end of legal slavery in the United States. It tells a gripping story, not only of terrorists who struck suddenly and savagely out of intense passion for a cause, but also, of equally passionate men and women who dedicated themselves to bringing about social justice through advocacy and other non-violent means. It is for any reader who enjoys learning about humanity through the lens of a history that is never fictionalized. Whenever a new act of terrorist violence bursts upon us, we strain to find the comfort of a logical explanation. That effort, though, is fraught with paradox. One of the most profound is the duality observed in the personality of the perpetrator. In lives apart from their defining act, terrorists frequently are lauded by friends and family as upstanding individuals, distinguished for kindness, good behavior, and charity ... It has been noticed that terrorists, in their mental makeup, tend to resemble each other. Our mission is to address the questions: How and why?

Provides new perspectives on the violin's beloved concert repertoire, its diverse roles in indigenous musical traditions on four continents, and its metaphorical presence in visual arts and literature.With a colorful history that spans 450 years, the violin has proven to be one of the world's most important and versatile instruments. Addressed to performing musicians, serious concertgoers, and collectors of recordings, The Violin offers insightful, up-to-date essays on a wide range of topics. Essays discuss beloved masterpieces from the violin's solo repertoire, with individual chapters on the Italian Baroque, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and the violin concerto in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as the evolution of performance styles and interpretation as documented in recordings. The volume also illustrates the broad cultural and geographic reach of the instrument, offering readers a taste of the traditional music of Argentina, Mexico, Norway, and India, in which the violin's participation is an essential and characteristic element. Other chapters are devoted to American fiddling andto the violin and violinists as metaphors in literature and the visual arts. CONTRIBUTORS: Chris Goertzen, Eitan Ornoy, Robert Riggs, Peter Walls, Peter Wollny. Musicologist and violinist Robert Riggs (PhD,Harvard University) chairs the Department of Music at the University of Mississippi and is the author of articles on Mozart as well as the monograph Leon Kirchner: Composer, Performer, and Teacher (URP 2010).

More than ever, terrorist acts command enormous attention. Concerns about terrorism have led to sweeping new restrictive government policies on such matters as immigration and airline security. In an often repeated syndrome, the one lasting legacy the departed terrorists leave behind them is a grossly exaggerated overreaction by governments to their suicidal exploits. The overreaction derails the faith in liberty and the respect for diversity that characterize an enlightened civilization.Sofia Perovskaya is a fascinating case study. She came from a privileged family with royal connections. She was not victimized by poverty, class or social stigma. She was known for being kind to the sick and devoted to her mother. We have much to learn from examining her peculiar turn of personality, one that takes over people who are generally intelligent, ascetic, creative, and motivated, and makes them killers who thirst for martyrdom.This book is part of a series of profiles of historical terrorists. The profiles demonstrate the folly of the many who continue to confuse the desperate "cause" adopted by the terrorist with the real cause of the terrorist act. Terrorism has deep roots in an irrational facet of the human psyche. Through this series we explore how, as society itself has moved toward pluralism and respect for human life, the terrorist act of self-immolation has emerged and grown in its appeal to the dark side of the psyche.