In the eighteenth century the Alps became the subject of a new view of nature, which crystallized in the sublime. Oscillating between fear and fascination, this sensual experience triggered a thrilling borderline experience: travelers ventured to the mountain world full of longing and projected a variety of different dreams onto the "wild nature" that had yet to be explored. To what extent has the sublime influenced architecture in the Alps, from the early days of tourism to the present? Prompted by this question, the author analyzes Alpine architecture in its historical context and offers a critical assessment of contemporary tourism. This is a book that inspires us to reflect on the future of building in the Alps and on our relationship with nature.

In the eighteenth century the Alps became the subject of a new view of nature, which crystallized in the sublime. Oscillating between fear and fascination, this sensual experience triggered a thrilling borderline experience: travelers ventured to the mountain world full of longing and projected a variety of different dreams onto the "wild nature" that had yet to be explored. To what extent has the sublime influenced architecture in the Alps, from the early days of tourism to the present? Prompted by this question, the author analyzes Alpine architecture in its historical context and offers a critical assessment of contemporary tourism. This is a book that inspires us to reflect on the future of building in the Alps and on our relationship with nature.

In its range and sophistication, Sublime Desire is a valuable addition to postmodernist studies as well as to studies of the historical romance novel.

The Imperial Sublime examines the rise of the Russian empire as a literary theme simultaneous with the evolution of Russian poetry between the 1730s and 1840—the century during which poets defined the main questions facing Russian literature and society. Harsha Ram shows how imperial ideology became implicated in an unexpectedly wide range of issues, from formal problems of genre, style, and lyric voice to the vexed relationship between the poet and the ruling monarch.

The understanding of the nature of reality is the insight upon which the Buddha was able to achieve his own enlightenment. This vision of the sublime is the source of all that is enigmatic and paradoxical about Buddhism. In Verses from the Center, Stephen Batchelor explores the history of this concept and provides readers with translations of the most important poems ever written on the subject, the poems of 2nd century philosopher Nagarjuna.

There is a unified field in the cosmos that holds everything together, and every discipline is a portal to it. Science calls it a field of fundamental forces and elementary particles. Religion calls it God and accepts it by faith as an impenetrable mystery. How can their unbending perspectives be reconciled? In The Ambient Christ, the author proposes a novel paradigm that explains their complementarity as a seamless unity. This innovative model provides a new story for an ailing and divided planet in the twenty-first century, and a viable solution to the holy grail quest. "There is something too narrow and missing in the gospel as it is presented to us. In spite of appearances, our age is more religious than ever; it only needs stronger meat" -Pierre Teilhard de Chardin "A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by conventional faiths. Sooner or later, such a religion will emerge." -Carl Sagan”