In the midst of the remarkable revival of interest and belief in angels comes this handsomely illustrated reference work--the fruit of 16 years of research in Talmudic, gnostic, cabalistic, apocalyptic, patristic, and legendary texts. "A wacky and wonderful compendium of angelic lore".--Time. Illustrations.

"When, on an autumn Medina night in 61/680, the night that saw al-òHusayn killed, Umm Salama was torn from her sleep by an apparition of a long-dead Muòhammad, she slipped effortlessly into a progression of her co-religionists who, irrespective of status, gender or standing with God, were the recipients of dark and arresting visions. At the core of those Delphian dreams, peopled by angels or æginn or esteemed forbears and textured with Iraqi dust and martyrs' blood, was the Karbalåa' event. Her dream would be recounted by an array of Muslim scholars, from al-Tirmiödåi, stellar pupil of al-Buùhåaråi, and Ibn 'Asåakir, untiring chronicler of Syrian history, to bibliophile theologian Ibn òTåa åus and Egyptian polymath al-Suyåuòtåi. But this was not Umm Salama's only otherworldly encounter and she was not the only one to have al-òHusayn's fate disturb her nights. This is their story"--

"Pity Transformed" is an examination of how pity was imagined and expressed in classical antiquity. It pays particular attention to the ways in which the pity of the Greeks and Romans differed from modern ideas. Among the topics investigated in this study are the appeal to pity in courts of law and the connection between pity and desert; the relation between pity and love or intimacy; self-pity; the role of pity in war and its relation to human rights and human dignity; divine pity from paganism to Christianity; and why pity was considered an emotion. This book will lead readers to ponder how the Greeks and Romans were both like and unlike us in this fundamental area of cultural sensibility.

Enchanting, fresh translations of the finest stories by Brazil’s greatest writer and author of short stories, cited as the greatest black writer in Western literature “Machado de Assis showed the human comedy is the same everywhere, and in conflicts between man and society, society usually wins.” --The New Yorker Machado de Assis is one of the most enigmatic and fascinating story writers who ever lived. What appear at first to be stately social satires reveal unanticipated depths through flashes of darkness and winking surrealism. This new selection of his finest work, translated by the prize-winning Daniel Hahn, showcases the many facets of his mercurial genius. A brilliant scientist opens the first asylum in his home town, only to start finding signs of insanity all around him. A young lieutenant basks in praise, but in solitude feels his identity fray into nothing. The reading of a much-loved elder statesman's journals reveals hidden thoughts of merciless cruelty. This beautiful new collection of fresh translations offers the perfect gathering of his most beloved stories: The Fortune-Teller The Posthumous Portrait Gallery The Loan The Tale of the Cabriolet The Stick The Secret Cause The Canon, or Metaphysics of Style The Alienist The Looking-Glass Midnight Mass