BRILL
Technology in transition; A.D. 300-650.
This publication, volume four of the Late Antique Archaeology series, surveys the aspects of technology of the period and explores technological continuity, stagnation, and decline; the papers presented in this volume are derived from a meeting of Late Antique Archaeology held in 2004. Lavan (archaeology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK) first provides introductory and bibliographic material relevant to the topic, then divides the book into subject topics including agriculture, production (metal, ceramic, and glass), engineering, and building; multiple papers are presented in each section. Sources are pulled from archaeology and text, and continuity from the preceding periods to Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages are sought, as well as references to the technological heritage of the Islamic world. The geographic scope for this title is primarily Italian, though some consideration is given to North Africa, Asia Minor, and the Near East, and the generous date range runs from the Roman period to the tenth century. This title provides a particularly valuable resource for scholars of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, especially in examining the technological transition between the eras. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The temporal mechanics of the Fourth Gospel; a theory of hermeneutical relativity in the Gospel of John.
Hoping thus to forestall critics, Estes (Western Seminary, San Jose, California) declares at the beginning that the gospel writer was not secretly privy to the Theory of Relativity. Neither does he claim that any such scientific concept so accurately describes the world that it necessarily is, has always been, and will always be true for any time or place. Rather he draws from relativity and other modern scientific ideas to construct a possible framework within which John's otherwise obtuse expressions of time and duration make sense. He assumes readers have no background in or interest in science or mathematics. The study was born as his 2006 Ph.D. dissertation in theology and biblical studies at the University of Nottingham. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The Templar order in north-west Italy (1142-c.1330).
The presence and activities of the military order in Italy have been little studied, says Bellomo (medieval history, Rutgers U.), partly because of a scarcity of sources. She offers a general picture of Templars in the northwestern corner of the country from such perspectives as settlement strategies and types of houses, hierarchical organization, and relations with local society. Then she profiles Templar houses that are known to have existed during her time period, and unconfirmed houses. The study began as her 2001 Ph.D. dissertation for Universitá Cattolica-Milano. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Tibetan modernities; notes from the field on cultural and social change; proceedings.
Anthropologists and other social scientists explore the manifestation of modernity in the Himalayan nation, now part of China, and among the diaspora. Their 14 papers discuss such topics as pollution and social networks in contemporary rural Tibet, schooling and quality education in the Tibetan diaspora and Tibet, 20th-century Tibetan painting, the rise and development of Tibetan popular music, and Chen Kuiyuan and representations of the Panchen Lama reincarnation dispute of 1995. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Unlawful attacks in combat situations; from the ICTY's case law to the Rome statute.
In this 18th installment of the International Humanitarian Law series, author Héctor Olásolo examines the legal repercussions of death and destruction in time of war. Olásolo (Columbia U.) outlines what constitutes an unlawful act of violence in time of war and combat, and how war crimes have been addressed throughout history. Recent case studies are presented from countries such as the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon. Much of the material is presented in the context of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, currently the most active and comprehensive treaty dealing with war crimes since World War II, and the International Criminal Tribunal of the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), of which the author was formerly a member. Martinus Nijhoff is an imprint of Brill. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Walking on the water; reading Mt. 14:22-33 in the light of its Wirkungsgeschichte.
Wirkngsgeschichte, explains Nicholls, is a new procedure for studying Biblical texts; it has been translated as the history of influence or the history of effects, and includes commentaries and sermons, letters, sculptures, proverbial sayings, cartoons, hymns, and even jokes and graffiti. She applies it to the passage in the Gospel of Matthew that describes Jesus walking on water. After providing historical and literary critical analysis of the passage, she looks at its effects in some 19th-century theological texts and some visual works. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
What happened to the ancient Library of Alexandria?
The Alexandria Project is part of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the re-establishment of the famous library emphasizing the intercultural exchange of ideas. This first volume of the project discusses what happened to the first library. Myths about the destruction of the library abound. El-Abbadi (classical studies, University of Alexandria) and Fathallah, director of public services for the library and organizer of the conference where these papers were first delivered, arrange the book chronologically. The articles cover the history of the library and indicate that the building and its contents were destroyed more than once, the final blow coming in 391 c.e. when the Emperor Theodosius banned the teaching of pagan authors. However, that did not stop the intellectual activity of Alexandria. The essays are illuminating, dispelling several popular myths. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Wisdom in transition; act and consequence in Second Temple instructions.
Adams (biblical studies, Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education, Richmond, Virginia) uses the act-consequence model to illuminate how instruction about proper behavior in the Wisdom books of the Bible was changing during the Second Temple period. He looks at Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, compares instruction in Egyptian texts and Dead Sea Scrolls, and considers Ben Sira's apologetic response. The study is revised from his 2006 Ph.D. dissertation at Yale University. As usual from Brill, the physical volume is of superb quality. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Yearbook of the European convention on human rights; v.49.
The yearbook gathers together the legal materials relevant to the European Convention on Human Rights from the year 2006. It publishes any changes in the basic texts, as well as signatures, ratifications, reservations, and declarations by states. A section covering the European Court of Human Rights and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe lists court proceedings, describes the subject matter of Court judgments, summarizes judgments of the Grand Chamber, and presents resolutions and texts adopted by the Committee of Ministers. Also presented are replies of the Committee of Ministers to Parliamentary Assembly recommendations and written questions; recommendations, resolutions, and opinions of the Parliamentary Assembly; and descriptions of relevant activities of the Directorate General of Human Rights. Reports on individual countries contain information on legislative acts and other official acts of member states related to the Convention, along with decisions of domestic courts concerning guaranteed rights of the Convention. The material is presented in English and French on facing pages, with the exception of the country reports, which are presented in the language in which they were originally submitted by member states. Two appendices provide a selective bibliography of publications concerning the Convention and biographical notices of judges elected to the European Court of Human Rights. Martinus-Nijhoff is an imprint of Brill. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
You are a priest forever; Second Temple Jewish messianism and the priestly christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Scholarly interest has turned again to the Epistle in recent years, notes Mason (biblical studies, Judson U., Illinois), but the key motif of Jesus as high priest is not being discussed this time. After reviewing both the past arguments and the scholarship since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, he concludes that currents in Second Temple Judaism, especially ideas evidenced in the Qumran texts, provide the best background for understanding the presentation of Jesus as priest. The study is a revision of his 2005 doctoral dissertation in theology for the University of Notre Dame. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The Zahiris; their doctrine and their history; a contribution to the history of Islamic theology.
Jewish Hungarian Goldziher (1850-1921) is considered by many to have laid nearly single-handedly the foundations for Islamic studies as an independent academic discipline. Of the many books in German he wrote on many aspects of Islam, Die Zâhiriten is counted as minor, but still an important early contribution to the Western understanding of Islamic law, and the starting point for subsequent research into the dissident literalist school that flourished mostly in Spain during the ninth century CE. The English translation first appeared in 1971. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
