Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson's "marvelous" (Jane Goodall) New York Times bestseller, When Elephants Weep, made us re-evaluate the emotional lives of animals. And in his follow-up New York Times bestseller, Dogs Never Lie About Love, Masson reflected with "intelligence and originality" (Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review) on the emotional world of dogs. Now, in The Emperor's Embrace, Masson offers a remarkable look at one of the most fulfilling roles in the animal world: fatherhood. With fascinating insight, impeccable research, and captivating writing, controversial psychoanalyst Jeffrey Masson, a new father himself, introduces us to the world's best dads. He takes us to such places as Antarctica, as he explores how emperor penguin fathers incubate the eggs of their young by carrying them around on their feet for two months, nestled beneath a special brood pouch. And he tells us how, once the babies hatch, the fathers snuggle the babies on their feet until the mother returns from her time at sea, feeding them a special milk-like substance until her arrival. Masson, a superb storyteller, showcases the extraordinary behavior of outstanding fathers, heroes among animals, including: *the wolf -- and why wolves make good fathers and dogs don't *the beaver, who encourages his young to cling to his tail as he navigates through ponds *the sea horse, the only male animal that gives birth to its young *the marmoset, the South American monkey who carries his babies for the first two years of their lives wherever he goes. Masson also examines nature's worst fathers: lions, langurs, bears -- and humans. He shows that when a father does care for his young, as with the beaver, we immediately look for a biological and not an emotional explanation. But Masson demonstrates that for these animals, as with humans, fatherhood is a profound, all-encompassing experience. Groundbreaking, compelling, inspirational, Masson's unique look at one of nature's most venerable institutions takes us to animal habitats around the world, yet always returns to the heart. For animal lovers, fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters everywhere, The Emperor's Embrace is a book that will forever change our perceptions of parenthood and family love.

Controversial psychoanalyst and bestselling author Jeffrey Masson offers a remarkable look at fatherhood in the animal world. He showcases the unusual caring behavior of emperor penguins, wolves and South American marmosets. He also profiles deadbeat animal dads--lions, bears and langurs.

A showcase of the extraordinary behaviour of outstanding fathers in the animal kingdom. From the emperor penguin, who incubates the eggs of his young to the sea horse, the only male animal that gives birth to its young. Masson also examines nature's worst fathers: lions, bears and humans.

History claims she is the first female serial killer. Locusta is the daughter of a winemaker in the Roman province of Gaul. She enjoys the indulged childhood of the elite, her concerns only about the day’s amusements. She rides gentle ponies, attends parties, reads Ovid, and learns the herbal arts from her servant. But the day after meeting her betrothed, Locusta discovers the consequences of possessing such dangerous knowledge. Ordered to leave her pastoral life, Locusta is thrust into a world of intrigue, scandal, and murder—where treason lurks behind every corner and defying an emperor means death. Locusta’s life changes forever when a young Emperor Nero requires her herbal expertise and commands her to be his personal poisoner. Caught in an imperial web, Locusta must embrace her profession or die. Or is there another way out?

This important new and original study on the institution of the Japanese emperors focuses on the enigma of the institution itself, namely, the extraordinary continuity of the Japanese dynasty, which is unknown anywhere else in the world, yet which is now at risk on account of more recent laws of succession.

“Lots of fun . . . like an episode of Sex and the City written by Ovid.”—Kirkus Reviews Bernardine Evaristo’s tale of forbidden love in bustling third-century London is an intoxicating cocktail of poetry, history, and fiction. Feisty, precocious Zuleika, a restless teenage bride of a rich Roman businessman, craves passion and excitement. She wanders through his villa, bored, or sneaks out to see her old friends, seeking an outlet for her creativity. Then she begins an affair with the emperor, Septimus Severus, remembered to history as the “African Emperor,” and she knows her life will never be the same. Streetwise, seductive, and lyrical, The Emperor’s Babe is a “glittering fiction” with a “heroine of ancient times for the modern age” (The Times). “The adventures of a sassy, sexy girl about town . . . Funny, engaging, and a daring evocation of the possible genesis of black British history.”—The Independent on Sunday “Smart, imaginative, and readable . . . A rich farrago of historical fact and outrageous fancy.”—The New York Times Book Review “Zuleika leads us on a riotous, racy whirl through Roman Londinium—while displaying her lyric gift throughout, and at last her heartbreak to the core, and her own embrace of doom. . . . a captivating tale in verse.”—Robert Fagles

The Japanese emperors, a peculiar and unique phenomenon in modern times, are the subject of this important handbook edited by Ben-Ami Shillony. An international team of leading scholars looks at these emperors - Meiji (Mutsuhito), Taishō (Yoshihito), Shōwa (Hirohito), and the present emperor Akihito – both as personalities, and as a constantly developing institution. It becomes clear that both the personalities, and the periods in which they reign(ed) have shaped Japanese monarchy, and our image of it. The essays thoroughly deal with topics such as the ideology behind the institution, the roles of the emperors and their wives, their visual representation, their links to Christianity, the antagonism they called forth in right-wing circles, Hirohito’s much-debated war responsibility, and the controversy over amending the succession rules.