New Releases by Paul Johnson

In Art: A New History, Paul Johnson turns his great gifts as a world historian to a subject that has enthralled him all his life: the history of art. This narrative account, from the earliest cave paintings up to the present day, has new things to say about almost every period of art. Taking account of changing scholarship and shifting opinions, he draws our attention to a number of neglected artists and styles, especially in Scandinavia, Germany, Russia and the Americas. Paul Johnson puts the creative originality of the individual at the heart of his story. He pays particular attention to key periods: the emergence of the artistic personality in the Renaissance, the new realism of the early seventeenth century, the discovery of landscape painting as a separate art form, and the rise of ideological art. He notes the division of ''fashion art'' and fine art at the beginning of the twentieth century, and how it has now widened. Though challenging and controversial, Paul Johnson is not primarily a revisionist. He is a passionate lover of beauty who finds creativity in many places. With 300 colour illustrations, this book is vivid, evocative and immensely readable, whether the author is describing the beauty of Egyptian low-relief carving or the medieval cathedrals of Europe, the watercolours of Thomas Girtin or the utility of Roman bridges (''the best bridges in history''), the genius of Andrew Wyeth or the tranquility of the Great Mosque at Damascus, the paintings of Ilya Repin or a carpet-page from the Lindisfarne Gospels. The warmth and enthusiasm of Paul Johnson''s descriptions will send readers hurrying off to see these wonders for themselves.

The classic world history of the events, ideas, and personalities of the twentieth century.

Robert Johnson''s Thirteen Moons is an engaging and humorous chronicle of a year the author spent living in a tipi in the rugged wilderness of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California from May 1984 through May 1985. Styled chronologically like a journal, his narrative account, spiced with levity and an easy-going, self-deprecating manner, is filled with high adventure, philosophical musing, encounters with eccentric goldminers, marijuana growers, a dog named Bob, obsessed fishermen, an FBI hippie, and an extremely large rattlesnake, as well as vivid descriptions of the natural history of the region.Like Kerouac''s Dharma Bums, Abbey''s Desert Solitaire, and Thoreau''s Walden, Johnson''s odyssey combines a love for nature and solitude with a commitment to understanding his place in the world: I removed the last of my possessions -- my snowshoes, mask, and snorkel, my pancake griddle and vegetable seeds, my gold pan and bow saw and books on Zen and Plato, my manual typewriter and fishing pole...and stuffed them into my bulging backpack...Not only would it be my first attempt at dragging my tipi poles down the three miles of arduous, switch-backing trail, but it would be my official move-in date -- Day One of my proposed year in the wilderness.A poignant and spiritual quest by a young man testing himself in the wilderness, putting his faith in providence, and managing the revelations of self-knowledge and survival with down-to-earth pluck and skill.

In this probing, challenging and personal account of his feelings about God and religion, Paul Johnson shares with others the strength and comfort of his own faith. Informed by his great knowledge of history, The Quest for God is written with force, lucidity and eloquence by the author of Intellectuals, Modern Times, A History of the Jews and other works.

Pugnacious and savage,eloquent and unpredictable,Paul Johnson sets out to entertain and to inform and to shake the complacency of his readers.These essaysselected from the best of his weekly pieces in The Spectator over the last five years,range widely.

The Quotable Paul Johnson contains 2,000 pithy and hard-hitting Johnson excerpts, edited and arranged alphabetically by topic, and with a cross-reference index. Since the publication of Modern Times in 1983, Paul Johnson has been recognized as one of the world''s most distinguished popular historians. In addition to having written twenty-eight books, including Intellectuals and History of the Jews, he frequently contributes essays and book reviews to both the British and the American press.

The existence of Madame Blavatsky''s occult "Masters" has been fiercely debated for more than a century. Although scores of books have been written about her, none has focused on the historical identities of these elusive teachers. This book profiles 32 of Blavatsky''s hidden sponsors, including leaders of secret societies in Europe and America, religio-political reformers in Egypt and India, and even British government agents. The milieu in which she carried out her spiritual quest is vividly revealed as a hotbed of revolutionary plots and secret coalitions. But beyond all the politics was a genuine spiritual awakening of global significance.

The author examines the politics, manners, economics, art, science and technology, commerce, and literature, of the nations of the world in the early 19th century.

Practical plans for teacher and taught in creative work with pop-up paper forms. Nicely produced with many color photos of student work and clear line drawings illustrating construction. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Ill. on lining papers.