General Interest
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/archimedes/
During the 3rd century BCE, the scientist Archimedes began to explore the emerging field of mathematics (including the concept of infinity), along with developing elaborate war machines for use by his native Syracuse against the Romans. This new Web site (along with its accompanying NOVA television program) explores his life and the recent discovery in a Parisian apartment of his manuscript, called The Method -- the document in which scholars believe he came quite close to discovering calculus. The site includes a number of interviews, short articles, interactive features, and a teacher's guide. One of the most compelling interviews on the site is the one with Stanford University classics historian Reviel Netz who talks about the concept that underlies the idea of infinity. A particularly nice interactive feature is the Approximating Pi demonstration that illustrates how Archimedes calculated pi around the year 250 BCE. [KMG]
The charge of the National Book Foundation has been to highlight great American writers and writings. As the preeminent organization devoted to literature "the Foundation has sought to fulfill this mission in two ways. Through The National Book Awards -- the nation's preeminent literary prize -- the Foundation recognizes books of exceptional merit written by Americans. Through its unique outreach programs featuring National Book Award authors, communities participate in the writing life of the nation by reading and writing together." Over the years, the awards have featured the names of such exemplary and inimitable authors as Saul Bellow, Rachel Carson, Thornton Wilder, William Faulkner, and Lauren Bacall, and include such genres as autobiography, poetry, religion, history, fiction, and more. With September 2003 came the addition of Stephen King -- the author of numerous short stories and books that take the reader through twisted, snaring plots in stories such as Carrie, Christine, and Misery -- to this illustrious list of honorees by receiving the foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. At this Web site, visitors can peruse a listing of all of the award winners, learn about the annual National Book Month (celebrated in October), and explore the many other offerings of the foundation including workshops, writing camps, and available resources. [JPM]
http://hcl.harvard.edu/harvard-yenching/morrison/
Founded in 1928, the Harvard-Yenching Library is the largest university library devoted to East Asian research in the Western world. All told, the library's collections currently stand at over a million volumes. This particular online archive holds over 5,000 photographs and 10,000 negatives taken by Hedda Morrision while she resided in Beijing from 1933 to 1946. Mrs. Morrison later mounted the photographs into thematic albums and donated them to the Harvard-Yenching Library, which her husband described as "the best permanent home for her vision of a city and people that she loved." The photographs themselves document various trades, professions, landscapes, and architectural structures of China that in many instances no longer exist. Visitors seeking to search this particular archive will need to use the Harvard University Library's Visual Information Access system. A user-friendly guide to using the database is provided here, along with a chronology of Mrs. Morrison's life, and a listing of the contents of each photo album, as originally conceived by Mrs. Morrison. [KMG]
http://www.powells.com/authors/interviews.html
A number of publishing houses and well-regarded independent booksellers have placed author interviews on their respective Web sites, but this particular one from the massive Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon may be one of the most intriguing online collections available. Containing over 50 interviews, the authors profiled here include Ann Patchett, David Halberstam, Paul Theroux, Susan Orlean, and Deepak Chopra. Several of the interviews are particularly interesting, including the one conducted with Erik Larson (author of The White City, a tale that intertwines different stories about late 19th century Chicago together) and one with Michael Chabon, the author who won the Pulitzer Prize for the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Finally, visitors have the opportunity to take a look at related publications from Powell's, such as a compilation of lengthy interviews with 22 different authors. [KMG]
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mali/
Founded 900 years ago, the city of Timbuktu (located in what is now the country of Mali) was a center of major commercial importance and a place where many Islamic scholars received their education. This exhibit, developed by the Library of Congress (with the use of manuscripts from the Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library and the Library of Cheick Zayni Baye of Boujbeha) explores some of the many important literary traditions and scholarship developed during this period of scholarly effervescence. Here visitors can browse over 30 primary documents, including texts designed to train scholars in the field of astronomy and the nature of Islamic mysticism. The exhibit is rounded out by several maps, such as a map from 1743 that shows the region in and around Timbuktu. [KMG]
http://www.raptusassociation.org/
Developed by Ingrid Schwaegermann, this Web site is offered as a homage to one of the most beloved classical composers, Ludwig Van Beethoven. Far from just offering a smattering of platitudes on Beethoven, the site is divided into a biographical section, a picture gallery, an area dedicated to offering musician's comments on Beethoven's legacy, and a most splendid section that details the stories behind many of his works. The Creation Histories section is particularly enjoyable as visitors can learn about how Beethoven crafted each of his symphonies, where they were first performed, and how they were initially received. The biography pages are also detailed, beginning with a discussion of Beethoven's family life, continuing into his time as court apprentice, and moving on to his time in Bonn and Vienna. Additionally, the section dedicated to musicians' musings on Beethoven is quite lovely, with a piece by E.T.A. Hoffmann on Beethoven's instrumental music, and the late Yeduhi Menuhin's reflections on performing Beethoven's music. Not surprisingly, the contents of the site are also available in German. [KMG]
http://www.visualanthropology.net/
Over the past several decades, the practice of visual anthropology has come into its own, and has spawned a number of academic programs around the world, and more than a few scholarly journals. Designed as a clearinghouse and focal point for the field, this Web site (developed by Dr. Francesco Marano) is a well-organized place that contains a host of material for people intimately familiar with the field, and for those who seek to become better acquainted with it. The homepage begins with a listing of the latest news from the field, material about upcoming conferences, announcements about new books and journal articles, and finally an online newsletter (which visitors can subscribe to as well). The material contained on the site is divided into several sections, including Tools (which contains links to current papers submitted to the site), Learning (which contains material about various academic programs in visual anthropology), and Books (which contains links to information about new books and relevant journals). Additionally, there is quite a bit of information here that is also available in Italian. [KMG]
